


Learn to Live Again

by books_entertain_the_mind



Series: I Can't Change the World, but I Can Change Yours [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, But i kinda like it, F/M, May Parker Deserves To Be Happy, Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Slow Burn, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Uncommon Pairing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-04
Updated: 2019-09-25
Packaged: 2019-10-22 12:32:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 66,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17662703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/books_entertain_the_mind/pseuds/books_entertain_the_mind
Summary: After May discovers the Peter's Spider-man she contacts Tony to give him a piece of her mind, but ends up learning more about the billionaire superhero than he ever wanted her too. Tony quickly finds that both Parkers have wormed their way into his life and, without meaning to, end up giving him a reason to start living again after everything that happened with the Accords and Siberia.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, just a quick note before you read, I'm still learning the formatting for A03, so if anything looks weird or you have any helpful suggestions, I'll gladly take the help!
> 
> I've been playing around with this idea for a while now and I finally motivated myself enough to sit down and start writing it.
> 
> This chapter's a little shorter than the rest will be, but it's just setting the story up. I'll post the next chapter later this week. I haven't set up a schedule yet, and am only a couple chapters ahead. I'm going to build up a supply of chapters before I give myself a set posting schedule. 
> 
> I love all helpful suggestions and all comments! Thanks for reading!

Tony was working on reading through new revisions and proposals for the amended accords when Friday caught his attention.

“Sir, May Parker is calling.”

Tony looked up and tried to think of a reason May would be calling. He’s already given Peter an updated schedule on when he’d be coming to the compound to start actual lab work and intern things for him. He felt that after turning down the Avengers, it would be smart to give the kid as close to a real internship as he could. He also discovered that the hands-off approach doesn’t work with the teenage spider, so it was better for everyone to keep him close.

“Boss, should I put Miss Parker’s call through?”

Friday pulled Tony back out of his thoughts and he shrugged. “Sure, why not? Let’s see what she has to say.” He turned around and grabbed a towel to wipe the grease and oil from his hands while he waited for the call to connect. When it did, he grinned and answered. “May Parker! What can I -”

_“Who do you think you are?”_

May’s interruption caught him off guard. “Excuse me?”

_“What in the world do you think gives you the right to give a 15 year-old child a suit to use to pretend to be a superhero? And how dare you bring that same child, my child off to who knows where to fight the other Avengers and not tell me!”_

Tony took a breath and nodded, holding the bridge of his nose with his finger and thumb. Apparently Peter couldn’t keep his secret any longer. Oh well, he knew this moment would come eventually. Tony had just hoped it wouldn’t have been when the Ross and the Council, especially Ross, were breathing down his neck.

He sighed and nodded once more. “Okay, I understand why you’re angry. Let’s decide on a time we can meet face to face and you can yell at me to your heart’s desire, because that’s much easier to handle than staring at paperwork and listening to the phone. You can even spit in my face like everyone else in my life has. Deal?”

The room was silent as May took in his words. Tony heard a soft sigh before May responded.

_“Tomorrow is my day off from work. Come over to our apartment while Peter’s at school. And Tony? I’m not going to spit in your face, or yell at you, or anything else overly disrespectful to you. That wouldn’t be fair to either of us. I’ll see you tomorrow.”_

Tony listened as she hung up, but just sat there, lost in thought. He knew she had every right to be mad and blame him for any problems involving Peter and Spider-man. Heck, he’s been blaming himself for any Spider-man related problem since he gave the kid the suit in Germany. Tony knew that no matter what May had said, he’s already prepared to accept whatever treatment she gives him for endangering her kid without telling her what was really going on.

He sighed and turned back around to the documents he was previously focusing on. He checked the time and making sure he wasn’t going to be late for Rhodey’s therapy that day, before setting aside the accords stuff and pulling up some SI emails on his computer. Ross can wait a couple days.

 

* * *

 

May sighed and hung up the phone, rubbing a hand over her eyes. She thought back to Tony’s words and his general acceptance of the idea of ill-treatment and punishment from her before they even talked about anything. She was mad at him for endangering Peter, yes, but she also knew her nephew and understood that whatever blame Tony Stark has placed on himself isn’t all all on him.

When she walked in on Peter earlier and saw him in the Spider-man suit, she admittedly lost it for a moment. She felt like the two of them were finding a groove and new normal after Ben, and moving apartments, and all the other adjustments that have happened to them in the last four years. Now though, she can’t believe she hadn’t realized what Peter had been doing for the last 8 months. A lot of questions and details added up now, and she felt like an idiot for not seeing it sooner.

Peter had begged and pleaded with her, trying to explain himself through all of his nervous and guilty stuttering. He felt horrible for not telling her, but they both knew she would have forbidden him from the start. He told her he still feels guilty for Ben and when he discovered his powers he knew he had a chance to save others from feeling that same grief and guilt and couldn’t not help people. On one hand, she was immensely proud of his heart and good conscience, but on the other hand, May didn’t know if she could handle for 15 year-old out fighting criminals and villains all the time.

May was also trying to figure out how Tony Stark had suddenly become a part of her life. She knew right away that the suit was made by him. She always thought that he personally coming to talk to Peter about interning had seemed far-fetched, but she had tried not to think too much into and just be proud of Peter for his accomplishments. She also had to admit that even if Tony hadn’t physically added himself to the equation, he was still Peter’s hero and would have continued influencing the teenager from afar without knowing it.

Either way, May knew that after meeting and talking with Tony Stark tomorrow, her life will never be “normal” again.


	2. Chapter 2

May was doing the dishes when she heard a knock at her door. She looked at the clock and saw it was 12:30. Plenty of time to talk before Peter came home from school. He was, of course, grounded and expected to come straight home every day there wasn’t a decathlon practice for the next two weeks, possibly a month. 

She quickly dried her hands and walked over to the door, unlocking the deadbolt, chain, then the doorknob itself. Sue her for wanted to feel safe in Queens. She opened the door to something she never thought she’d see: Tony Stark standing in front of her tiny apartment in a t-shirt and suit jacket, sunglasses, and holding up several bags of takeout. 

He gave her a smile she knew he used when he was in front of the press and gestured to the food in his hands. “I figured I could at least offer lunch before you start yelling.” 

May gave a small smile at the hidden peace offering and gestured for him to come in. She took the food from him and told him to follow her to the kitchen. She set the food on the counter and turned back to the billionaire standing by her kitchen table. He kept his sunglasses on as he held himself tensely and watched every move she made, as if just waiting for her to strike. 

Her heart broke slightly for how she could see him trying to hide his emotions, and he was doing remarkable but Ben was the same way and she knew how to read people like that. She saw how nervous he was, shuffling from foot to foot, seeming to have decided that this conversation was going to end the same way everything else does: with him taking the blame and being the scapegoat for everyone else. She saw someone who had so little trust left to give people, a man who has been betrayed and broken by everyone he has let into his life. 

In that moment, any lingering anger she had left her body and she decided that no matter what, she would prove to be different from everyone who had hurt this man in the past. She would show him that there are still good people in the world. That’s how she raised Peter, and she was determined to follow her own teachings too. 

May walked towards him and slowly, so he could see what she was doing, placed a hand on his arm. She tried to ignore the minute flinch he gave at the contact, but didn’t move away. “Mr. Stark,” she murmured, “I’m not going to yell at you. You seem to forget that I know Peter very well. This isn’t all your fault. We just need to talk about going forward from here.”

Tony watched her for a second before looking away and giving a cough to clear his throat before speaking. “Whatever you say Miss Parker, and please, call me Tony. Mr. Stark was my father.”

May smiled and nodded, removing her hand. “So long as you call me May.”

Tony gave a small smile, a real one, and nodded. He took off his sunglasses and looked around. He noticed all the pictures of Peter and he could see the love the small family had for each other. From the childhood memories to the academic achievements framed and the pictures of Peter, May, and a man he’s assuming is the late Ben Parker, it was quite obvious this household held much love and happy memories. Tony gave a bittersweet smile, thinking of how opposite this was to his childhood home, where instead of warmth and happiness, there seemed to only be cold and fear. 

Tony shook himself from his musings when May turned back to the food and started dishing it out for the two of them. He chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. “I didn’t know what you liked, so I just went with a couple different things from a Chinese place Rhodey and I like to go to every once in a while.”

May led them to the dining table with the food and the two of them sat down. She handed him a pair of chopsticks and they began eating. “Well, good for you, because I happen to love Chinese food,” she smiled at him, hoping he’d start to relax a bit, still not happy with how stiff he held himself. 

After several minutes of semi-comfortable silence while they enjoyed their food, Tony finally cleared his throat. “As much as I’m enjoying eating with a real person for once,” he gave a shrug at May’s concerned look, “what Spider-man issue did you want to start with?”

May nodded, choosing not to mention the real person comment, and set down her chopsticks. “First, I want to know why you came to Peter at all. Did you know he was a teenager when you decided to recruit him?”

Tony shook his head. “Not at first. I thought he was at least a college kid at the youngest. I was keeping tabs on Spider-man for a while before the whole thing with…” he trailed off and May could he him start to retreat into his head and the pain in his eyes flashed quickly before he shook his head and looked back at her. 

“Anyway, I started making a suit for him after I got a good look at his costume. Honestly, sweats and goggles? It was atrocious.” He rolled his eyes and shuddered, which earned him a smile and quick laugh from May. He decided he liked the sound of her laugh. 

“So, I started working on a suit for him, planning on approaching him to talk when everything else happened and I couldn’t wait anymore,” he swallowed and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to stay calm. May softly placed a hand on his, which quickly caught his attention. He stared at their hands for a moment before looking up at May and saw both understanding and comfort in her eyes. That wasn’t a look he was used to seeing focused towards him. He took another breath and continued. 

“We were down in numbers when Ross gave me very short amount of time to bring in Rogers before he gave the shoot-to-kill order. I didn’t have many people on my side and Spider-man was the only one I could think of that I could bring in. I had Friday track his habits to find where he lived and low and behold, I discover the masked vigilante is a 14 year-old kid. I hated myself but I was desperate. I saw Peter’s school records and could tell right away he was smart, if not close to genius level intelligence. As much as I wish I could have picked someone else, I needed his skills to try and simply detain from a distance. I didn’t know that confrontation was going to escalate as much as it did. But Peter held his own, and I was impressed. Terrified, but impressed.”

Tony sighed and pulled his hand away from May’s. He rubbed his eyes and looked back at her. “You have no idea how much I regret bringing him to Germany. I can’t apologize enough for that, May. I regret Germany in general. I wish things hadn’t turned out like they had, and you have no idea how much I wish I could go back and prevent it all. The accords, Germany, Siberia…”

He whispered the last part and looked away, that far away look back in his eyes. May could see the pain and fear and noticed his hands started to tremble as he gripped his left wrist unconsciously. She saw the signs of an oncoming anxiety attack and leaned forward, getting his attention by grabbing his right wrist. 

“Tony, you don’t have to tell me anything. It’s alright. You don’t have to think about it,” she tried to reassure him, but decided to just talk him back to the present in hopes of calming him down. “You’re not there. You’re in New York, in my apartment. We’re eating chinese food and discussing my nephew’s questionable choice of an after-school hobby.”

Tony choked out a laugh at her last comment and shook his head, keeping his eyes squeezed shut. He was quiet for several minutes, focusing on his breathing and the feeling of May softly rubbing her thumb back and forth over his wrist. He used that as his grounding point and he knew she knew that as well. 

After several more minutes of a tense quiet, Tony took a deep breath and opened his eyes again. He looked up at May and gave her what he hoped was a smile, but might have ended up more of a grimace. He coughed once and looked down at the table. 

“S-sorry about that. I didn’t mean -”

“No.”

He looked up at her, confusion evident in his face. Why was she telling him no? He knew that people hated dealing with his anxiety. Pepper didn’t know how to handle it and acted like he could just will it away. Rhodey tried to help, but Tony always felt crushed and smothered and ended up feeling even more anxious. And the rest of the Avengers? Well, Tony didn’t even want to go there. 

May smiled at him, and grabbed his hand, giving it a squeeze. “Don’t apologize for reacting to a traumatic event, Tony. It’s natural and okay. I’d be surprised if you were truly fine after everything, considering it’s all still extremely recent. It’s not a problem to help you through it.”

Tony just continued to stare at her. Who was this woman? Why was she so nice to him after helping endanger her nephew for the last two months, behind her back, treating him like a friend instead of an enemy, and even pulling him away from a panic attack? He didn’t understand, but he also didn’t want to ruin whatever was happening. It’s been far too long since someone has been nice to him just because they were a nice person. 

He finally blinked and shook his head in disbelief. “No one just helps without wanting something in return,” he mumbled, trying to ignore the sympathy in her gaze.

‘The only thing I want is for you to be okay. No one should have to suffer like you have.”

Tony opened his mouth to reply, but his phone decided to give a ping at that moment, alerting him of an upcoming meeting Pepper wanted him to attend. He sighed and stood up, May following his actions. 

“As much as I’d love to continue this right now, i need to get back to the tower for some business meetings. Pepper and I might not be together anymore, but she still runs more of my life than I do,” he chuckled, trying desperately to lighten the atmosphere after such a heavy conversation. 

May seemed to sense that and smiled as she showed him to the door. “From what I understand, that’s for the best of everyone.”

Tony snorted in agreement and opened the door, about to step out. He turned back to May before he left. “We didn’t really talk about a game plan for Peter for the future.”

May nodded. “Next week, same time? I’ll make lunch this time. Peter’s grounded for at least two weeks for keeping Spider-man a secret from me, so we have to time to decide what to do.”

Tony grinned and nodded. “It’s a date.” 

He stopped short when he realized what he said, but May smiled and waved him away. “See you then,” she called after him, watching him walk away and back to his car and life as a rich business owner and inventor. 

She sighed and closed her door, moving to put away the leftover take-out. Apparently her new normal contained lunches with Tony Stark to discuss rules for teenage superheroes. Who knew?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, thank you for the positive and very helpful comments! I don't post much of my writing, so this is new and terrifying for me and I'm grateful you guys seem to like the potential this story has. 
> 
> Like I said last time, for both formatting and writing, I'll take any constructive criticism on how to improve!
> 
> Seriously, comments and responses from readers is the best motivation I can find to keep on myself to keep writing, so if you like it so far, let me know!


	3. Chapter 3

The next week had Tony once again standing out of the Parker’s apartment. He had told Peter earlier that they’ll start their lab days together after his grounding was over, but was now regretting that, for only to have someone give him some insight to what May’s been thinking after their meeting last week. Although, if she was as flustered and confused as he felt, _she_ might not even know what to think.

Tony had no idea why he was back here. He was using the pretense of discussing Peter and Spider-man, but he knew that wasn’t the only reason. After Pepper breaking off their relationship, and then the Accords fiasco and Rogers’ betrayal and subsequent attempted murder in Siberia, Tony had sworn off letting anyone get close enough to hurt him again.

So why was he standing in front of this door?

He was scared that May was going to break down every single wall he ever built up, and she’d probably have no idea what she was doing. The woman has already made leaps and bounds on that front by being compassionate and understanding of his issues when they inevitably came up. Not to mention actually accepting his apology and not blaming him for everything. He couldn’t wrap his mind around that one. Even before the Avengers, Tony had already grown accustomed to and accepting of the fact that he’d always take all the blame, no matter the issue or who was at fault. Yet, here was this beautiful and kind woman who was willing to refuse his scapegoat tendencies.

_Wait,_ Tony paused in his internal musings, shocked at his own thoughts. _When did I start seriously thinking May was beautiful?_ Sure, she was a physically good-looking woman, but to think she was beautiful because of her actions instead of her body… That line of thinking made Tony nervous. No, he needed to pull away, remove himself from this equation before either Parker ended up hurt as collateral damage from his own destructive life. It wasn’t fair for them to be inherently in danger for just associating with him.

So then why was he still standing in front of this damn door?

Before he could answer his own question, May surprised him by opening the door, smiling when she saw it was Tony on the other side.

“Tony! You actually made it. I was wondering if you would actually come.” She opened the door wider and moved aside for him to walk through. “Please come in. I have lunch on the table. I hope you like spaghetti and meatballs.” Her voice started to fade as she walked away from him towards the kitchen table, blissfully unaware of the internal conflict Tony was currently struggling with.

As much as he wanted to turn around and leave before he could fall any further into the tempting and alluring sense of _warmth_ and _safety_ that this tiny apartment offered, Tony had to admit that he hasn’t eaten a decent meal in far too long and just seemed to unconsciously follow the independent Italian offering him comfort in the form of food. He found himself sitting at her table before he even knew what happened.

May dished out pasta for the both of them, choosing to ignore the dazed and confused look on Tony’s face. She assumed he didn’t know how easily he was letting his emotions show and decided not to bring it up, just on case.

“So, how was your week? Peter mentioned that you’re pausing any lab visits until after his grounding?” she asked, hoping to get him to relax with harmless small talk.

The man shrugged, reaching for a napkin and watched her sit down across from. He started eating only after she did. “It was alright,” he answered between bites. “Nothing major, just ignoring government officials while working on SI projects to keep the board happy.”

He closed his eyes and barely held back a groan of pleasure as he ate. He could tell May knew how to handle her pasta, like any proud Italian. It reminded him of the few times his mother would cook family recipes for him when he was little. “May,” he moaned, gesturing to the spaghetti. “This is amazing. I have to confess, it’s so much better than your walnut date loaf, no offense.”

He smiled when May laughed at his compliment and subsequent insult. After hearing it a second time, Tony came to the conclusion that he will always enjoy May’s laughter. It was light and free, a breath of something fresh in his life. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if he were to only slightly keep his distance, instead of completely shutting the Parkers out of his life. He was allowed to be a little selfish, right?

May grinned, nodded in agreement with Tony’s assessment. “Yes, my baking skills definitely need improvement, but I do know my way around most pasta dishes. Growing up with Italian immigrants as grandparents teaches you the importance of cooking pasta the ‘right’ way.”

Tony perked up a bit at that tidbit of information. “My great-grandparents immigrated here from Italy. On my mom’s side, that is.”

They spent the next 15 minutes talking about the culture and memories they had of their late family members. Several laughs were shared as both adults began letting their guards down and letting go for once. Neither had someone they could relate to or share these types of stories with. May had several more happy memories than Tony, but he piped in when he could with the few fond memories he still had of his mother’s side.

Soon the pair found themselves finished eating and both at the sink, tag-teaming the few dishes, still occasionally chuckling and stealing smirks and glances. Both were shocked at how it suddenly felt like they had been friends for years. Any previous awkwardness or nerves surrounding the two had disappeared as they cleaned up together.

Once everything was clean and put away, the two adults found themselves in the living room, sipping on sparkling grape juice from wine glasses. Tony was grateful that May had went with a non-alcoholic substitute without even blinking an eye. No matter how low he got after he returned from Siberia, he still refused to turn back to the bottle. Even though he had stopped drinking for Pepper, he was proud of himself for his sobriety and planned on keeping it that way, no matter what.

May cleared her throat after they settled across from each other on the couch, reminding her of when Tony first showed up to talk about recruiting Peter for an ‘internship’. Once she had his eye contact, she put her glass of grape juice down.

“So, in regards to Peter and his alter-ego, what are your plans from here on out with him?”

Tony nodded and sipped his drink. “Yes. Well as you know, he has a suit that him again. I’ve loaded that suit with every protocol I could think of, from a tracker to the Baby Monitor Protocol,” he smiled when May began laughing at the name. He named the surveillance that as a joke, knowing it would annoy the teenager when he discovered the name. He was glad May found it just as funny.

“It also has A parachute, a detachable reconnaissance drone, and a personally built AI to run the suit for him. That way I have total access to what he sees, his vitals, whereabouts, and everything else whenever he has the suit on. And after discovering just how smart and stubborn he and his nerd friends are, I made it completely un-hackable by anyone other than myself.”

After May stopped laughing at the protocol names, she just stared at Tony as he listed off everything he put in her nephew’s suit. She couldn’t believe he put all this time and effort in for a child he hardly knew, and hadn’t even met yet when he started making the thing. Suddenly, she felt horrible for every time she judged the billionaire previously.

“I’m sorry.”

Tony stopped discussing the safety protocols he created when May’s apology interrupted him. “What?”

“I’m so sorry for judging you before.” May watched as a flash of confusion fly across his face before Tony schooled his features with a practiced look of indifference. That speed and efficiency he did it made her internally wince at the thought of how often he hid his emotions because others refused to actually get to know the man behind the facade.

Tony shrugged, looking away. “Everyone else does. There’s no need to apologize.”

May leaned forward and grabbed his hand. “No, I need to apologize. I judged you based on what the media has always said, even though I know that most stuff the press says about anyone is false. I always assumed you were completely self-centered and arrogant and that you didn’t care about anyone or anything unless it directly affected your life. Yet here I am, sitting and listening you talk about the insane levels of safety features you’ve created for a teenager you hadn’t even met at the time. A selfish and self-centered person wouldn’t do something like that.”

“But I took him to Germany -”

“You already apologized and explained why. That shows you really regret what you did. Only a person with a good heart and cares for others would do that. So I’m sorry for judging you before I got to know you, Tony.”

Tony didn’t say anything right away, he just stared at her, mouth open in shock.

May saw the superhero was at a loss for words, but before she could say anything, Tony found his voice again. He cleared his throat and pulled his hand away from hers. He looked down at the floor, refusing to meet her eye.

“Well, we aren’t here to talk about me right now. We need to work out plans for the Spider-kid.”

May nodded, sitting back against the couch cushions, putting more distance between the two of them, hoping to give Tony a bit of comfort with the space.

Tony seemed to relax just slightly as May sat back in her spot. “So I’m already having him come to the Compound twice a week to work with me in the labs, and we can definitely add superhero training to those days, if you want.”

“That would make me feel better about letting him go out to fight bad guys, if he was getting proper training from professionals.”

“Alright, we make that happen. What about patrol times? You’re in charge here, you make the rules, May. I’ll back you up if the kid argues too much.”

“I don’t want him out every day like he has been. He’s neglecting school and friends and normal life to fight muggers and bike thieves every chance he gets.”

Tony thought for a moment. “What days does he have his smarty-pants club practices?”

May snorted. “Mondays and Wednesdays for an hour after school.”

Tony smirked and nodded. “Alright, how about he comes to the Compound on Tuesdays and Thursdays and then can do patrols after school and practices the other three days? Do I need to program a curfew protocol into his suit too?”

“How about just a reminder? Midnight during the week and 2 am on weekends? Only after homework is finished, of course.”

“Of course. We can’t let his grades fall. Only the smartest of people work for me.”

May paused and looked over at him. “So it’s real this time? His ‘Stark Internship’ isn’t just a cover story to go save the world?”

Tony sighed and had the decency to look guilty and a little shameful. “I promise, this time it’s the real deal. He has the credentials and all the paperwork to prove his place as Tony Stark’s first and only personal intern.”

May smiled and nodded. “Thank you. He deserves it, and I’m not just saying that because I’m biased. He’s truly too smart for his own good.”

Tony chuckled. “I completely agree, May. It would be foolish on my part to not take advantage of claiming him for Stark Industries now. That kid is the future and he’s going to change the world with his mind, not his spider powers.”

* * *

The two adults ironed out all the details to the rules they were going to bring to Peter in regards to his Spider-manning. They decided next week, once Peter came home from school, the two of them would sit the teenager down and discuss it all with him, then starting his Compound visits the day after, as it would be a Thursday.

After Tony left, May started picking up the living room, putting away the bottle of sparkling grape juice and setting the glasses to clean later. While in the kitchen, she heard her phone give a _ping_ , signaling she had a new text message. 

May walked over to her phone and unlocked it, seeing the message was from an unsaved number, but she smiled when she read the message, knowing who it was from right away.

_You don’t have to wait until next Wednesday to talk to me if there is anything else you think of before then._

_P.S. Lunch is on me next week._

_-T.S._

Maybe her new normal won’t be as bad as she thinks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm blown away by all the love already just from the first two chapters. Seriously guys, you have no idea how happy I am hearing that y'all seem to really enjoy this so far. (Yes, I live in the south, I use the word 'y'all' all the time) I decided to give chapter 3 to y'all a little early since I plan on spending the weekend writing as much as I can. 
> 
> Again, comments are the drive to write more chapters. And the more I write, the more I'll update in a more timely manner, so it's a little quid pro quo of you ask me.
> 
> Any ideas or suggestions on how to improve will always be appreciated! You guys are awesome.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys! I feel like I'm on repeat when I say this, but I am completely blown away by how much everyone seems to like this story! Seriously, I'm so grateful for all the encouragement, comments, and kudos. I also feel very proud and accomplished by the fact that everyone seems pleasantly surprised that they are enjoying the May/Tony pairing. 
> 
> I do need to give a small disclaimer though. As much as I thoroughly enjoy writing May/Tony, I will always be a Pepperony shipper. With that, Pepper will be in this story, semi-regularly at points, cause even if Tony and Pepper aren't together, I can't imagine him functioning completely without her having some influence in his life. So, Pepper will be in it as like a best friend/sister to Tony. Their relationship dynamic will be explained later in the story, but I just wanted to throw that out there. 
> 
> Enjoy chapter 4!

Tony didn’t know what he was thinking when he texted May after leaving the Parker’s residence last week, but he doesn’t regret it. May replied later that evening and they’ve been talking off and on every since. 

It was never one specific topic for long, or too deep of a topic either. They talked about everything and anything that didn’t involve the Accords, the Avengers, her late husband, Peter’s parents, or anything else too traumatic for either of them. 

Instead, they talked about May’s job at the hospital, Tony’s complaints about SI board members, Rhodey’s therapy, Peter’s grades, favorite take-out restaurants around New York, swapping stories of crazy Italian family members, and countless other trivial yet seemingly important topics they could think of. 

Tony starting relaxing more when entertaining the thought of staying in contact with the Parkers. Maybe he wouldn’t screw this up too badly. He can still allow himself to be just a little selfish, right?

 

That Tuesday, Tony and Rhodey were enjoying a late lunch after Rhodey’s PT session. Once most of the food was gone, Rhodey started to talk.

“So, wanna tell me what you’ve been doing that’s finally gotten you to start relaxing again?”

Tony looked up from his phone, giving his best friend a sharp look. “What do you mean by that?”

Rhodey laughed. “Tones, we can all tell you’re finally doing something to help you. For two months you hid away from everyone as much as you could and when you did let someone near you, it was obvious how exhausted and hurt and just done with life you looked. But for the past week, you’ve started smiling just a little more and your shoulders aren’t held as tensely. It might not be a big difference, but Happy, Pepper, and I can tell. So what’s up?”

Tony looked at his best friend. The man has been by his side since MIT. If anyone was going to notice any change, no matter how minute it was, it would be James Rhodes. He sighed and set his phone down. 

“The Spider-kid’s sentence ends tomorrow, so his aunt and I have been discussing the rules and schedule we’re going to give him. Things like lab time and training up here at the compound, a curfew and other things like that.”

Rhodey gave him a knowing look and a slow nod. “I see. So it’s all just for the kid? No other reasons you’d spend all week talking to each other?”

Tony can feel his face flush slightly. “Honey-bear, I don’t know what you’re trying to insinuate. I am merely helping the next generation of superheroes. I’ve been a lone wolf since Pep and I ended it, and I plan to stay that way. I’m simply trying to being a good mentor and be there for the kid, unlike before.”

Rhodey rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say, Tones. Just let me know the next time the kid comes over. I want to meet him properly this time.”

Tony nodded. “Deal. He’ll be over Thursday evening when he gets off from school. I plan on giving him the tour and rundown of everything.”

The colonel nodded and slowly got up and moved to his wheelchair. As much as he was determined to walk using Tony’s braces, he was always too exhausted after PT, so he’d usually concede and use a wheelchair until he wasn’t so tired. 

He waved Tony away when his friend jumped to his feet to help him. The genius has been a full-on mother hen every since Rhodey had been released from the hospital. Rhodey appreciated it and knew that he’d be doing the same thing to the younger man. Heck, he has done that to Tony countless times when they were younger. 

He hated that Tony still felt guilty and believed the accident was all his fault. No matter how many time Rhodey reassures him the he doesn’t blame Tony for any of what happened in Germany, his best friend - no, brother, will always shoulder the guilt and weight of the world. 

Hopefully this Spider-kid and even his aunt will help lift the burden he, Pep, and Happy haven’t been able to. 

Tony followed behind Rhodey as they made their way from the kitchen to the couch and TV in the common room. Both of them try to ignore how large and empty the room seems when it’s just the two of them instead of how full and lived-in it felt when the entire team was there. 

They were sitting and watching some random sci-fi movie for about an hour before Tony gave up acting like he was remotely paying attention to the movie. He glanced over at Rhodey and saw the man was leaning back with his eyes closed, but Tony knew better than to think the colonel was truly asleep. 

“Do you think Luca would murder me if I called him and asked for a dish for tomorrow?”

“Depends. When was the last time you actually talked to or visited them?” Rhodey asked, smirking but still keeping his eyes closed. 

Tony squirmed in his seat, knowing that Rhodey knew full-well when that was. “Long enough that I’m worried he might murder me before agreeing to help me.”

Rhodey chuckled and finally looked over at the younger man. “Well, I guess we’re just gonna find out then, hmm?”

Tony grumbled but dug his phone out of his pocket anyways. “You’re supposed to be on my side, Platypus," he muttered, moving away to make the call to the only man that could still put the fear of God into the billionaire. 

Rhodey laughed as Tony walked away. He shook his head and turned back to the movie. He had no idea what was happening on the screen, but he knew that Tony needed privacy for the chewing-out he was about to receive. Rhodey and Tony both respected Luca and knew that no matter how harsh a scolding they were given, the old man will still be there to help them and knock some much needed sense into either of them when it was needed. 

Rhodey was just glad it was Tony getting scolded this time, and not him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I appreciate any and all constructive criticism and ideas on how to improve! Comments are the way to my heart, and the you receive chapters quicker!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this one is a little later then the rest! I sliced one of my fingers earlier this week and you wouldn't believe how hard it is to type with a bruised and healing finger on your dominate hand. 
> 
> Chapters will probably be coming out only once or twice a week from now on, depending on how fast I write in my little bit of free time. Also, if you guys have any ideas or prompts you want me to add into the story, let me know! I have a very general idea of where I want this story to go, but not many details planned yet, so I'll consider anything y'all throw at me.

Tony found himself once again staring at the now-familiar apartment door, only this time he was holding a fresh and extremely hot dish of the best pasta he knew. After Luca scolded him to the point where he felt like he was back when he was thirteen and had showed up at Mario’s and running from his father after handing him his expulsion letter from whichever boarding school he was attending at the time.

The old Italian had given him a proper chewing-out about running from his problems instead of facing them before guiding him into the kitchen and teaching him a new dish to work on for his mother. _“Tonio, no matter how much you think you’ve messed up, asking forgiveness is the first step of reconciliation. And a good, homemade lasagna as a peace offering never hurt anyone.”_ Luca and his family had been there for Tony as long as he could remember, and the man never treated him any different now than he did as a child. Tony always appreciated that.

Right now though, Tony was focusing on trying not to burn his hands and still knock on the door. It was as if May could sense his presence though, as she opened the door in that moment, smiling when she saw him.

“Tony! I thought I heard someone outside. Here, let me help you,” she reached to take the scalding hot dish out of his hands, but he just shook his head and grinned as he made his way to her kitchen.

Tony tried to ignore the nagging thought of how familiar he already was with this path through her apartment. He was treading in dangerous waters here. He needed to be more careful and watch himself. He can’t get too comfortable. That’s when it’ll all inevitably go downhill for him.

“Nonsense. This is extremely hot and I don’t want to make you suffer from the pain of a passive-aggressive punishment meant to teach me to call and visit more than once every 5 years.”

May followed him to help put out the required dishes, but gave him a confused look at his comment.

He noticed the look she was giving him and he waved it away, opening the warm food carrier, pulling out a freshly baked dish of chicken, spinach, and bacon alfredo. “Ignore that. Luca was very persistent about letting me know I need to come around to his place more often. That’s all.”

May nodded, still confused, but deciding not to question it. She assumed he’ll explain later. They move to the living room with their pasta and sparkling grape juice then settle into their respective spots in the worn couch.

Tony waits to eat his food in favor of watching May take her first bite. He smirked at her responsive moan of appreciation. No matter how good of a cook you were, Tony knew no one could beat Luca Carson when it came to authentic Italian.

May opened her eyes and looked over at Tony, blushing as she noticed he was watching her eat. “Oh my word, Tony. Where did you get this? This is probably the best food I’ve ever eaten.”

Tony chuckled and started eating his as well. “An old family friend of my mom has owned this authentic Italian restaurant in Manhattan for as long as I can remember. He’s always inviting me over to visit, especially since I moved back to New York, so I thought today would be a great excuse to eat some of his infamous food.”

May gave a small moan again as she took another bite. “Well, please give my compliments to your friend. Seriously, this is hands-down the best thing I’ve ever eaten.”

Tony grinned, but had to focus on his own plate for a moment. He felt something off in his chest every time she made a noise that was meant to be innocent appreciation of the food. He didn’t want to look too far into what that feeling was, so he shoved it away for the moment, because ugh, feelings.

“I’ll make sure to let Luca know, but I have a feeling he’ll insist on you telling him yourself at some point.”

May shrugged. “I’ll gladly do that. Anyone who makes food this good deserves all the praise they’re given.”

 

After that, the two adults quietly finished their lunch and proceeded on spending the next few hours, while waiting for Peter to get out of school, catching up on anything new from their week and telling each more stories as learning new things about each other.

Tony talked about all the trouble he and Rhodey found themselves in during their escapades while at MIT. He told May about his parents passing before he graduated college and how Rhodey was the only person that practically kept the man alive at that point. His best friend had refused to leave his side, forcing him to eat and sleep when Tony wanted to just give up on the world and try and drink his own life away. Rhodey has always seemed to know when Tony was about to cross the line of too much alcohol and every time would pull him back from that proverbial cliff.

May noticed that most of Tony’s stories consisted of just him and Colonel Rhodes. Part of her was happy that the genius had a friend that was willing to stick with him through everything that life had thrown at the poor man, but another part of her was sad that it seemed like Tony only had stories of the two of them. At least from childhood to when Happy and Pepper came into the picture. Even then though, no one else seemed to be in his life long enough or seriously enough to see the man behind the mask.

May decided it wouldn’t be so bad if her name ended up in the collection of people in the good parts of Tony’s life.

They also talked about some of May’s past. She told him some stories of her wilder days of high school and college. _“No Tony, technically I didn’t get arrested. The officer just wanted all of us at the station until we could be ‘collected’ by our parents.”_ They talked about when Peter came to live with them after Richard and Mary’s plane crashed when he was only three.

May even brought up Ben. She didn’t say much, but most of her stories about Peter also involve her late husband. She told happy stories of her and Ben playing surrogate parents to their nephew and learning as they went at the best of times and encouraging each other to keep moving forward on the worst of days.

Tony watched her talk about Ben Parker with a smile on her face but sadness and regret in her eyes. He knew that look well. He saw it everyday when he looked in the mirror.

“It’s not your fault.”

Tony’s soft whisper brought May out of her less than happy memories of the worst days she every experience, because Ben wasn’t there to cheer her on. They were her worst days because he had just died and she hadn’t known if she could find the strength to keep going, for both her and Peter.

She blinked when Tony whispered, and she looked up from where her gaze had wondered to the pictures lining the wall, and saw understanding within the chocolate brown gaze that the billionaire normally kept hidden from view. _Except when he’s here_ , a small voice whispered in the back of her mind.

“What?”

He leaned towards he and hesitantly took her hand in his. He was still extremely uncomfortable with physical touch from anyone other than Rhodey, but he had come to realize that touch is how May gives comfort. He assumed receiving comfort went the same way and so he ignored his own discomfort and focused on her comfort instead. He gave her hand a soft squeeze and refused to back away from her.

“Whatever had happened with Ben, it wasn’t your fault. Unless you were the one who pulled the trigger, you’re guilt for the situation is invalid.”

May gave him a grateful smile while trying to keep the tears at bay. She gave his hand a squeeze in return as a silent thank-you and not so discreetly wiped her eyes. They were silent for a moment before she cleared her throat. “So,” she began when Tony turned and looked back at her. “Want to watch some TV until Pete comes home? I texted him and told him that I excused him from decathlon today, so he should be home in about an hour and a half.”

Tony nodded, letting go of her hand to lean back against his spot on the couch. He was surprised when he felt slightly sad at the sudden lack of warmth from May’s touch. He inwardly shook his head to clear his thoughts from that avenue of thinking. “Sure, what’s a good show you’d recommend?”

May thought for a moment as she turned the TV on and queued up a show on Netflix. “Peter’s got me hooked on this show called _Sherlock_. It’s pretty good so far.”

Tony settled in as May started the first episode, correctly assuming that he hasn’t seen it yet. In his defense though, Tony hasn’t had much time to sit and watch Netflix shows lately. “Is it another take on Sherlock Holmes? Pepper wanted to watch the movie that came out several years ago. I thought that one was good. The actor they had play Holmes looked familiar though.”

May smiled in agreement. “This show is a modern take, but I agree with you. That movie was really good,” she thought for second before nodding. “And now that you mention it, that actor does seem really familiar.”

She shrugged and they both settled in to watch as John Watson met Sherlock Holmes and found himself in the middle of solving the serial suicide-turned-murder case with the eccentric consulting detective.

 

That was the scene that Peter walked in on as he came home after school. He stopped and stared at his aunt and mentor sitting next to each other discussing that plausibility of an assassin scaling a 180-degree vertical wall without any equipment or assistance from anyone else. Naturally, he was pretty confused.

“Um, May? Mr. Stark? What’s going on?”

The two adults jolted out of their conversation and turned at the sound of the teenager. May smiled and walked over to him to welcome him home with a hug.

“Peter! You’re home! Come on, let’s go back to the couch. Tony and I have some things to discuss with you.”

Peter followed, still not completely process what was going on. “You mean discussing the two of you debating Sherlock plausibility in our living room while I’m at school?”

Tony chuckled and nudge the teen’s shoulder when both Parkers joined him back in the couch. He paused the show and he and May simultaneously turned to the teenager sitting between them. The boy slightly shrunk under their combined gaze, but was still too curious and confused about what was going on to worry much. Peter looked between the two of them until May decided she would start talking.

“Peter, Tony’s here so we can lay down some rules and regulations for you regarding Spider-man, since your grounding ends today.”

Peter cut in. “What do you mean ‘rules and regulations’? Queens _needs_ Spider-man! Who else is going to look out for the little guy?”

Tony placed a hand on Peter’s shoulder to calm the teen down. “Relax, kid. Queens will still have their Spider-hero, just after school three days a week and weekends.”

Peter jumped up and stared at them. “What? That’s it? Crime doesn’t stop no matter what day it is, Mr. Stark.”

May glanced over at Tony and decided to let him handle the scheduling argument. She knew her nephew would argue even more when learned of his curfew and other rules he now had to follow if he wanted to continue being Spider-man.

‘Well kid, I guess the police will have to actually do their job on your off days, because it’s pretty non-negotiable at this point.” The billionaire leaned back and shrugged. “Unless you want to completely cancel you internship and Avengers Compound visits. Rhodey will be bumped he couldn’t properly meet you, but I’m pretty sure I can find some other high school prodigy to help me in my labs. If Spider-man needs to be on patrol as often as you seem to think, that is.”

Peter knew Mr. Stark was manipulating him, but at the moment he could care less. He hasn’t been able to visit the labs yet, and his special internship is already being threatened? He’ll agree for now and try to fight the subject later. Peter frowned but sighed and shook his head nevertheless.

“No, Mr. Stark. I want to keep the internship and compound visits, sir. I’m sorry,” he apologized, sitting back down between the two adults.

Tony winked at May when Peter wasn’t looking, to which she grinned and rolled her eyes. Tony clapped his hand on Peter’s shoulder and grinned. “Smart boy! You’ll be coming up to visit me every Tuesday and Thursday, starting tomorrow. Happy will be waiting at your school to drive you upstate those days.”

May decided to jump in before Peter could say anything. It’ll all go smoother if they laid it all out for her nephew before he had a chance to talk. “Then the other three days of the week, you can go patrol for 2 hours after school and decathlon practice, then be home for supper and homework. If you get all done in a timely manner, you can go back out until midnight during the week, but only if you get your grades back up to where they used to be and stay that way.”

Peter nodded. That seemed fair to him. “What about on the weekends?”

“You’re curfew will be 2am, but do not think that gives you permission to be out from morning to night. I don’t want you disregarding your friends either. Hang out with Ned some more. And that other girl you talked about? Michelle?”

Tony raised his eyebrows and smirked when he saw Peter’s face flush pink at the mention of this girl. Oh, he’ll so be looking into that when he gets back to the compound today. He stayed quiet for now, letting May have the fun of embarrassing the young teen. He was her kid after all. Embarrassment was one of the perks of parenting, or so he was told.

The three of them spent another 30 minutes going over rules and expectations for Peter that surrounded both Spiderman and working for Tony. After that, May offered for Tony to stay have dinner with the two of them, but he declined, using paperwork the Pepper was hounding him on as an excuse. In all actuality though, he knew it was May’s one day off during the week and he wanted to two of them to get to spend their family time together and not worrying about ‘entertaining’ Tony as a guest.

Though, if Tony allowed himself to admit it, their apartment was beginning to feel more and more cozy and familiar to him than he’d like to admit.

With goodbyes said and a promise of more food made by Luca in the future, Tony found himself walking back to Happy and his waiting car, feeling much more relaxed and content than he could remember being in a very long time. That warm feeling in his chest grew when he felt his phone buzz and saw a text from May.

_Thank you for today. For both our talk and being their with me for Peter. I think I’ll miss our lunch dates._

He quickly replied back, hoping he wasn’t reading the situation the wrong way. He could see himself becoming good friends with May Parker, and found he was disappointed in the thought of their weekly lunches ending.

_Any time. Our lunches don’t have to end, you know. We need to keep each other up to date with Peter somehow._

He started to panic as he waited for a reply. Maybe he a mistake. Perhaps May was happy to not have to worry about him coming over any more.

_That’s an excellent suggestion. Wednesdays still work for you?_

Her reply interrupted his negative thought spiral and he found himself grinning like an idiot and unable to stop. He very quickly agreed and joked that it was her turn for food before slipping his phone back in his pocket. He didn’t know what he had just gotten himself into, but he knew one thing as he saw Happy trying to hide a smirk, indicating he saw the whole interaction and Tony’s reactions to it.

Rhodey won’t let him hear the end of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am a HUGE fan of Sherlock Holmes (the literary character before any film adaptation) so I had to add that little blurb in. I couldn't resist.
> 
> Thanks again for all the love everyone! It makes me so happy to see people enjoying this story play out. I'm just as curious to see where this goes as all of y'all, haha! 
> 
> As always, comments are the incentive to make me write more. I'll take all the advice and thoughts you guys want to give.


	6. Chapter 6

Peter’s first compound visit seemed like a dream. He had actually pinched himself several times when Mr. Stark had been giving him a tour before actually entering the labs. He just couldn’t believe it! Last time he was here, Happy rushed him to the press wing so fast he couldn’t take anything in. Then he was sure he had ruined any chance of further visits when he turned down a spot on the Avengers.

Yet, here he was! He still thought it was a little weird that his aunt and Mr. Stark spent his two-week grounding thinking of and creating a whole list of rules and expectations for him if he wanted to continue his vigilante habits, but he knew it came from the fact that they cared. He expected that from his aunt, but was shocked when it seemed that Mr. Stark was just as invested in his safety now.

That didn’t matter right now though because he was currently in _Tony Stark’s personal labs_! Never in a million dreams would he have imagined he’d have this opportunity. _I also never expected to be bitten by a radioactive spider, but I guess you roll with what life gives you_ , he thought as he watched Mr. Stark greet his helper-bots so they didn’t get hurt by not being included.

Ned had freaked today at school when Peter told his best friend what had transpired the night before and that he was going to the Avengers Compound twice a week, starting that day. Peter couldn’t blame him though. He had been internally freaking out over his new schedule ever since May and Mr. Stark had told him about it. He was definitely bummed that he now had less time to do Spiderman patrols and he had let that fact be known last night, but it seemed like the two adults agreed it was time for some positive additions to Peter Parker’s life, not just Spiderman’s.

And that would bring him back to where he was currently standing.

“Hey kid! Are you just going to stand there and drool all day or actually get over here so I can start showing you stuff and do some mentor/mentee things with you?”

Mr. Stark calling over to him brought Peter out of his thoughts and back to the present. The teenager grinned and ran over to the lab table the older man was standing next to.

“Sorry Mr. Stark! This is all just so cool! Thank you again for letting come up here regularly, especially since I turned down your offer on the Avengers -”

Mr. Stark held up his hand to stop Peter’s ramblings, and chuckled. “It’s fine, kid. I realized I wasn’t being a good mentor and staying in the background wasn’t going to work with you since you seem to attract danger no matter where you go.”

Peter opened his mouth to protest that observation, because he didn’t _always_ attract danger, just sometimes.

Mr. Stark ignore his look of protest and continued on. “So we’re going to try a more hands on approach to this whole mentor thing. No only will you be working in my labs at your own table,” he gestured to the table they were next to at that moment when Peter interrupted again.

The teen pointed to the same table, his eyes wide. “That’s- that’s my _own_ lab table? In your personal labs?”

Mr. Stark smirked and waved the question away with his hand. “Yeah, didn’t I just say that?” He started walking away from the empty table and gestured for Peter to follow him. “Anyways, not only will I have you with me in my labs, part of your visits up here will consist of training with Rhodey and I, because let’s be honest here. Your fighting skills are pretty basic end even though you have the strength and the endurance to fight all the muggers of New York, your technique is quite lacking.”

Peter knew that he couldn’t argue too much with that logic. He knew that his fighting skills extended to what he’s only seen on TV and in movies, so he could always use the practice. Plus, who gets to say they’re being trained by _Iron Man_ and _War Machine_?! At this point, Peter figured nothing could surprise him anymore because his life has just gotten that unbelievable.

When he realized Mr. Stark was watching him, waiting for some reaction from that information, Peter grinned and nodded enthusiastically. “That’s fair. Plus it’s you and War Machine! There’s no way I could have anyone better to train me!”

Mr. Stark laughed and shook his head. “I don’t know about that, Underoos, but we’ll whip you into shape at the very least.” The older man started heading back out of the lab.

Peter followed him with one last longing look at the lab before running after his mentor. “Where are we going now?”

Mr. Stark glanced over his shoulder at the younger boy as he led them into the kitchen and the common area. “We are going to eat supper. I promised your aunt that I wouldn’t let you starve and you still need to do homework, if I’m not mistaken.”

Peter rolled his eyes behind Mr. Stark’s back. Of course the billionaire would remember his homework. It’s not like he had mountains of it. He could totally finish it when he went home. Peter jumped in surprise when Mr. Stark whirled around and pointed a finger right in Peter’s face, a teasing glint in his eyes.

“Hey now, I won’t tolerate any of that teenage angst in my compound, kid. We’re both at the mercy of May’s wishes and if she wants your homework done before you go play, that’s what we’ll do. Now come on. Rhodey’s cooking and he wants to see meet you.”

Mr. Stark turned back around and walked through the doorway to the kitchen, Peter still standing there in shock. How did Mr. Stark know he did that? His back was turned and everything! He jumped when he heard his name being called and he quickly ran in after the older man.

Peter stumbled down the single step that led into the kitchen and his eyes widened in shock and awe as he saw War Machine standing by the stove, wearing an apron that said, _I am Iron Man_ , except _Man_ was crossed out in sharpie and someone had written _Patriot_ instead. Peter chuckled as he watched the esteemed Colonel hit Mr. Stark on the arm with the spatula he was holding as Mr. Stark tried to dodge the hits.

“Come on Honey-bear! I said it was an accident!”

“Tony, you and I both know that nothing you do is an accident! Now stop trying to steal the food before I’m finished! I swear, you’re more of a child than the actual child.”

Colonel Rhodes had gestured behind him to Peter, which had surprised the teen, because he didn’t think the superheros had noticed him yet. It seems he has a lot to learn from them.

Mr. Stark backed away from Colonel Rhodes and grinned when he saw Peter. “Kid! You finally made it! Come on over here and let me introduce you to Mr. Grumpy-pants.”

Peter gave a nervous chuckle but obeyed nonetheless. He stuck his hand out to Colonel Rhodes, which the man reciprocated, “Peter Parker, sir. It’s truly an honor to meet you.”

Colonel Rhodes smiled and shook the teen’s hand, but Mr. Stark jumped in before he could respond. Mr. Stark clutched his chest with on hand and gave a gasp of mock indignation. “What about me? Am I suddenly not worth your hero-worship any more, kid?”

Peter turned to the billionaire and gave an innocent shrug. “I saw you and May discussing british tv shows on the couch in my living room. I thought we were passed hero worship.” He gave a small grin, his eyes sparkling with mischief as Mr. Stark sputtered a response as his cheeks started to lightly flush.

Colonel Rhodes barked out a laugh at his friend’s embarrassment and gave Peter a hefty pat on the shoulder. “Oh man,” he got out between laughs. “Yeah, I definitely like you, kid. You’ll fit right in.”

Peter blushed under the praise and ducked his head, trying to keep his cool after receiving such a compliment from one of his heros. He looked over at Mr. Stark as the genius rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Yeah, yeah. Rub it in, another person you can you to tease me endlessly with.” Mr. Stark grumbled under his breath. Peter only caught it because of his enhanced senses, but he could still catch the joking undertone. He was glad about that, because the last thing he wanted to do was actually offend Mr. stark by joking around in front of the man’s best friend.

Colonel Rhodes moved back to the stove to finish the grilled cheese he had been making before he was interrupted and began dishing out servings for the three of them. They took their time eating around the island bar, both adults taking turns talking and getting to know more about Peter. Colonel Rhodes asked more questions, as he knew very little about Peter, but Mr. Stark threw in questions every now and then about school and his other interests.

All too soon, they finished eating and Mr. Stark made Peter sit down and finish his school work before Happy came to bring him back home. Peter groaned about it, but Mr. Stark just shrugged and claimed he didn’t want to be on the receiving end of May’s wrath if her nephew fell even more behind in school.

Peter grumbled a complaint but dutifully did all his work and even had time to convince Mr. Stark to start Star Wars and watch about half of it before Happy came to collect him. He tried to hide his surprise when Mr. Stark stood up and said he’d go with them to drop Peter off. The teen saw Colonel Rhodes give Mr. Stark a knowing smirk that the billionaire purposefully ignored before wishing Peter a good night and heading to his own room for the evening.

The car ride home was awkwardly quiet, with Mr. Stark sitting next to him, focused on doing something on his phone. After they were about halfway to Peter’s apartment building, Peter decided to try and start a conversation.

“Um… thanks again for letting come to the compound, Mr. Stark. I really do appreciate it, and I know you don’t have to do anything more for me. I mean, I know you gave me back my suit after I turned you down for the Avengers, but I figured that’d be it, you know? So, um- so thanks.” His stuttered rambling slowly stopped as he saw Mr. Stark looking at him with an eyebrow raised and a smirk on his lips.

Mr. Stark chuckled and patted Peter’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about it kid. I thought it’d be better to let you figure life out on your own, but um-” he gave a cough and looked slightly uncomfortable but seemed to force himself to keep going with this conversation that was quickly turning much more serious than he wanted. “After you saving my plane and all that, I realized backing off wouldn’t work, and your aunt agreed. So that’s why you’re my intern now, kid. You’re way too smart for your own good and May seems to think I can help with that.”

Peter grinned at Mr. Stark’s words. His role model complimenting his intelligence is the just the cherry on top of an amazing day. This had to be hands down one of the best days he’s ever had. Peter wondered again though why Mr. Stark had wanted to come with him for the car ride, until Happy pulled up at his apartment building and Mr. Stark moved to get out of the car with him. “Um, Mr. Stark?”

Mr. Stark looked up from his phone, halting his steps towards the front door of the building. “Yeah, Pete?”

“I- uh, was just wondering what you were doing? I can walk up to my apartment myself.”

Mr. Stark shrugged and turned to keep walking, making Peter jog to catch up with him. “Since this was your first Compound visit, I thought I’d personally escort you. Don’t get used to it, because it won’t be a regular occurance. Now keep up. We don’t want to leave your Aunt waiting.”

Peter just shrugged and followed the superhero. He didn’t question it too much, because how many people had a superhero want to be his personal escort home?

 

May opened the door when she heard Peter out in the hallway, and was pleasantly surprised to see Tony with him. The man had texted her a little earlier to let her know Peter was on his way home. He didn’t mention though, that he was coming with the teen.

“Peter! How was you first day at the compound? Was it as fun as you thought it would be?” She fluttered around her nephew, making sure he was in one piece without anything wrong before motioning to his room. “Come on, you can tell me all about it over breakfast tomorrow. Off to bed.”

Peter half-heartedly groaned, but gave May a hug and kiss goodnight before trudging off to his room. He gave Tony a thank-you and a goodnight over his shoulder before closing his door and going through his nightly routine for bed.

Once May was sure Peter went to his room for the night, she turned back to the billionaire standing in her doorway. “Thank you, again. For doing all this for him.”

Tony smiled, and May noticed it almost reached his eyes. She was certain it was the closest to a real smile she’s ever seen him give. She wished that she’d never have to see that smile go away.

Tony shook his head and waved away the comment. “Non-sense. Like I’ve said before, it’s the least I can do for both of you after everything I put you guys through before.”

“No, you’ve already apologised and made amends. All is forgiven, Tony. I promise.” She gestured towards the kitchen. “Would you like some coffee or anything?”

As much as Tony wanted to say yes, he knew he was already beginning to slide into dangerous territory. He didn’t know why, but there was something about May Parker that just seemed to draw him back every time. Maybe it was the lack of blaming and unforgiving from the independent woman, or maybe the way she was willing to accept him into her and her nephew’s life with very few questions or expectations. It was possibly the way she seemed to be able to read him like an open book and didn’t fall for any of his normal diversions when talking about serious topics.

May Parker was unlike anyone else he’s met and Tony’s terrified that he’s already fallen too far by entertaining the idea of just friendship. He doesn’t want to ruin their lives and that seems to be the common theme with anyone he let’s into his life.

Any yet… none of that seems to matter for May, even when Tony has tried to bring it up. She shoots down those what ifs, because you can’t play with what ifs and truly live your life, according to here.

But tonight, Tony knows it’s better if declines coffee and the unintentional deep talks that would come with it. So when May asked if he wanted coffee, he just shook his head and pointed back at the door. “Sorry, but Happy’s waiting outside. I just wanted to let you know personally that everything went well today, and to confirm that Peter’s good for coming back after school in Tuesday.”

Tony swore he saw a brief flash of disappointment in May’s eyes, but couldn’t be sure. The woman nodded and walked with him back to the front door. “Of course, I understand. Thank you for wanting to let me know.”

May watched the billionaire awkwardly shuffle at her door, before taking a deep breath and reaching out a hand to his bicep. She gave it a quick and gentle squeeze before stepping back into her apartment. “Have a good night, Tony.” She whispered before closing her door and heading to her own room to get ready for bed.

May didn’t quite know why his rejection of coffee tonight disappointed her so much, but she was sure it was nothing. It’s not like she began looking forward to their lunches on Wednesdays, and there definitely wasn’t a little flutter in her chest every time she saw he had texted her. It was purely a professional relationship for Peter’s sake. A professional relationship that was bordering on genuine friendship, but that was as far as it went. There was nothing else going on, and knowing that a genius and a billionaire like Tony Stark had much better options than herself, May accepted the fact that a friendship is all there ever could be between them.

 

Tony looked back at the closed door after May wished him a good night. He closed his eyes and took a single deep breath. He opened his eyes and took one step back towards the apartment before stopping himself.

“Good night, May.” He whispered to no-one, before turning and going to the elevators to meet Happy at the car.

The genius slid in and told Happy to head back to the compound. He leaned back against the headrest and allowed his eyes to stay closed when he felt the car moving again.

“Everything okay, Boss?”

Tony opened one eye to see Happy glancing back at him through the rear view mirror. Tony closed his eyes again and nodded. “Everything’s fine Hap, just have a lot to think about”

With that the car fell silent for the rest of the drive, allowing Tony to think on everything that has transpired in the last few weeks that have led to these feelings he’s currently dealing with and trying to decide how to continue on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This wasn't my favorite chapter to write, but hopefully the length will make up for the wait. My social life is really weird, and like one week every month I someone become super busy and have no time to do anything except sleep at night. I think updates will be about once a week from here on out, unless I get pretty far ahead, then you might get some extra ones thrown in.
> 
> I'm very grateful that people like this story, and as always, comments and kudos are what give me the drive to write more. 
> 
> I love hearing any feedback y'all give, and I'm totally open to prompts and ideas of things you guys want to see in the story!
> 
> Y'all are amazing. I hope you're having a great day!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little shorter than average, but it was either that or super long chapter, so I just split it into two chapters. 
> 
> Also! One of the upcoming chapters is going to be them all celebrating Thanksgiving. I have two ways this could go and I want yall's opinions on it. Do you want it to be at May and Peter's apartment and just Tony goes over, or should tony invite May and Peter over to the compound to celebrate with him, Rhodey, Happy, and Pepper? Let me know which you think in the comments. 
> 
> Enjoy chapter 7!

Tony silently endured all of Rhodey’s teasing the next day while he thought back on the night before. He had a lot to think about. On the drive back to the compound, Tony realized that he may want something more than whatever he and May currently have, whether it could be considered professional or friendly, or a mix of the two. He didn’t know, but he _did_ know that he had to think of a way to see if May felt the same way he did. They already had their Wednesday lunches and neither worry much about the idea of being able to text each other. That would qualify as a friendship, right? Or at least the beginning of one?

Yet, Tony wanted more. He swore off women and relationships after Pepper, but May made him question all of his decisions. He didn’t think she even knew what she was doing to him. That’s what made him fall even more for the strong Italian woman. She didn’t care and told it as it was in a way that showed she did it out of love and care, not spite and hatred.

That led him to his current problem. What to do about his feelings for one May Parker?

Tony was sitting in his lab, absentmindedly working on one of his cars while mulling over that questions and possible solutions for it. As he was under the car working on a part of the engine, he thought of a brilliant idea. He quickly sat up in excitement, but yelled out in pain when his head collided with the car positioned above him. He groaned, holding his head as he slowly crawled out from under the car.

Dum-E came over, beeping as if concerned for Tony. The genius gave him an affectionate pat then waved him away. He made his way over to his lab table and quickly sat down, rubbing the small bump that was now on his forehead. Hopefully, he won’t gain a headache from his stupidity.

“Friday, let’s find which hospital May works at, shall we?”

“May Parker is currently employed at Mount Sinai hospital in Queens, New York in the Radiology department, Boss.”

Tony grinned as he pulled up the hours of her department. The his idea was beginning to take form in his mind and he couldn’t wait to put it in action.

 

* * *

 

May found herself being being paged to the secretary's desk right as she began her lunch break that following Monday. She inwardly groaned and started her trek over there. What could possibly be so important that they had to page her during her lunch. She hoped it didn’t take too long, she had a busy day ahead of her and she was hoping to take a breather and relax and eat before jumping in.

“Hey, Beth. What did you need me for?” She asked as she walked up to the secretary on her floor. She stopped and looked a her coworker with some confusion as she saw Beth’s grin. That was a grin that said something was up and something was about to happen.

“Oh, May! There you are! It seems you had forgotten your lunch plans today. We paged you so you wouldn’t miss it!”

May just stared in confusion. “What are you talking about? I have no special lunch plans. I was just eating in the break room.”

“Not today, you’re not.”

May whirled around to see Tony standing behind her, holding a drink carrier with two coffees in one hand, and a bag of some sort of food in the other. The billionaire just stood there, smiling at her as she walked over to him, a small grin on her face, the surprise still evident in her eyes.

“Tony! What are you doing here?”

He shrugged and held up the food and coffee. “I thought you might need a pick-me-up, and what better than coffee and free food?”

Her grin widened and she shook her head at his reasoning. “How did you even know where I worked and when my lunch was?”

He quirked an eyebrow. “I’m Tony Stark, remember?”

May rolled her eyes and grabbed his elbow, heading towards the elevator. “Come on then, genius. Let’s go eat lunch before you give poor Beth a heart attack.”

“Never! Beth is a sweetheart and a very lovely woman.” Tony looked back over at Beth and gave a wink, to which the older woman swooned. He laughed when May gently elbowed his ribs.

“Alright, that’s enough. Let’s go, Casanova.” He laughed while she dragged him into the elevator and back to the break room. She plans her lunch break for when most of the staff are still working, normally to ensure a bit of peace and quiet to enjoy her food. Today though, it was also useful to keep attention away from a certain superhero.

Tony followed her back to where her meager lunch still sat. He sat down across from her and handed her a coffee first before pulling out different containers of Chinese food and dividing it between them. “Alright,” he said and clapped his hands together. “Dig in!”

May gave him a smile and took a couple bites of her food. She caught him grinning as she gave her silent approval of the lunch choice. They ate for a few minutes, enjoying the quiet company of each other before May couldn’t help but ask the question she has been wanting to since she first saw him there.

“Alright Tony, we’re by ourselves now. So what’s the _real_ reason you’re here at the hospital?”

Tony looked down at his food and seemed to squirm in his seat for a couple seconds before looking back up at May. “I thought that’s what friends do.”

May’s eyebrows raised in surprise, but before she could reply, Tony kept going.

“I mean, I thought we were friends in some form. Rhodey and I go used to go out to lunch all the time when he was visiting from whichever base they had him stationed at. I just thought…” he paused and shrugged, looking back down at his own chinese food. “I’m sorry if I overstepped,” he mumbled.

May looked at the man in front of her in shock. He thought they were friends? It wasn’t just her? May could’ve leapt for joy at that revelation. Instead, she noticed Tony’s insecurities and self-doubt quickly taking hold and she reached out to grab his hand. She waited until he was looking her in the eyes to continue.

“Tony, I’m so glad you thought we were friends. Of course I’m happy to eat lunch with you! I just thought you had been coming over and being willing to talk to me for Peter. Of course I think of you as one of my friends now.”

The relief was evident in his face and in the way all the tension just seemed to leave his body. Tony gave May a smile that lit up his entire face, making May grin in return. He gave her hand a quick squeeze before pulling back and grabbing his chopsticks again. They ate silently for several more minutes, continually catching each other’s eye and grinning madly. Neither knew though, how estactic the other was for the fact that they’re relationship has shifted from something purely professional to something a bit more personal.

May just couldn’t believe it. That someone of Tony’s standing and stature saw her as one of his friends. Lord knows he could use more of those after recent events, but it still shocked her. Now here he was, surprising her with coffee and food at work. She hadn’t done anything like that for any of her friends since she was in college. Though she’s more than happy to have her current lunch partner than any of her old college friends.

They finished up in a timely manner after that, since May still had to go back to work, but Tony insisted on walking her back to the Radiology floor.

“I had fun May. It’s nice to be out and away from business snobs and annoying government officials.”

May laughed at that and they both stopped right outside the elevator on her floor. “Well, whenever you want to get out and be with normal people, you apparently know where to find me.”

Tony smiled at that and leaned in to give her a parting hug. “I’ll keep that in mind,” he whispered in her ear before turning back to the elevator. “We’re still good for lunch on Wednesday? I believe it’s your turn for food?”

May nodded and checked her pager to make sure she hadn’t missed anything while on her break. “Yes. Nothing will beat the illusive Luca’s pasta, but I’ll do my best.” She smiled and waved as the elevator opened and Tony stepped through. “I’ll see you then, Tony.”

Tony grinned and waved back just as the doors shut. May sighed and turned back around to find Beth giving her a smiled and knowing grin. She shook her head and reached for a patient file. “Anything you’d like to say, Beth?”

The older lady just chuckled and held her hands up in surrender. “Nothing, dear. I just wanted to say he seems like a lovely man.”

May glanced back at the elevator that Tony just disappeared on. “Yeah, he is,” she whispered to no one before turning back to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for all the love and support I'm receiving for this story! 
> 
> Like always, I'll take any prompt or idea given, and comments and kudos are the key to getting chapters quicker!
> 
> You guys are the best!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's my birthday, so I decided to give y'all a chapter before I became way to busy today to do it. 
> 
> Here's some sweet May and Peter time for everyone!

After that first time Tony brought lunch to May, that quickly became part of her new normal. Tony showed up at her apartment that Wednesday for lunch, in which she ordered pizza and they caught up on more Sherlock. That Friday at work, May found Tony once again talking to Beth and carrying chili dogs this time. They enjoyed lunch together in the empty break room until May had to return to her duties and she once again purposefully ignored Beth’s smile and knowing look after Tony walked her back to her floor.

The next week went about the same, and the week after that too. By then, May noticed Tony would show up on the days he wasn’t expecting Peter at the compound for lab time and training. She didn’t know why, but something in her warmed when she thought about the idea of Tony giving his whole focus to Peter on those days, or as much of his focus as he can as a genius, superhero and business owner.

The third Friday Tony had shown up for lunch, May was still watching the elevator after he left, thinking about how quickly the man has grown on her. She was shocked, she hasn’t let anyone come this close to her and Peter since Ben had passed. That obviously pointed to something that May refused to think about at the moment. She hadn’t realized she was still staring at the closed elevator until Beth spoke up.

“You know, he’s much kinder than the media has made him out to be.”

May looked over at the older secretary. “Yeah, I learned that myself. He’s been a great mentor for Peter.”

Beth just nodded and smiled that infuriating smile of her that said she knew all your secrets. “I bet he is, but that wasn’t what I meant, dear.”

May knew exactly where Beth was going but wanted to play oblivious for as long as she could. “I don’t know what you mean, Beth. Tony and I are just friends. If anything, it’s more out of professional courtesy for Peter. You know, his guardian and mentor trying to get along with each other. That kind of thing.”

Beth simply raised an eyebrow at her nervous rambling.

May stopped talking and felt her cheeks start heating up in a blush. “I don’t know what you want me to say, Beth. We’re just friends. I heard he and Pepper Potts are working on reconciling their differences to better Stark Industries. I don’t want to get in the way of anything possibly happened with the two of them.”

“But they’re not together, are they?”

May shook her head. “No, but they have such a long history together. They seem perfect for each other. What to I have to compare to someone like Pepper Potts?”

Beth set a gentle hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “Just because a person appears ‘perfect’ for someone doesn’t mean that’s who they need. That man, behind all the personas he has placed in his life, truly cares for you. He might just not completely realize it yet.”

May cocked her head to the side and stared at the secretary. “And what makes you say that?”

Beth laughed and moved to sit back down. “Oh dearie, do you think I’m not going to take advantage of having a man like Tony Stark spend 15 minutes waiting at my desk twice a week for you to meet him for lunch? No, honey, we talk. Most of the time, about you.”

May took a step back, her eyes widening when Beth pointed at her when she said that last sentence. “W-what? What do you mean, you talk about me?”

“Oh nothing bad, dear. He just can’t seem to stop talking about you and your nephew. He’s asked me a few questions, some I’ve answered, some I told him to talk to you about.” Beth shook her head and shrugged. “Like I said, that man is crazy for you and just doesn’t see it yet.”

May stood in shocked silence for a minute before clearing her throat and moving towards the desk again to grab a file for her next appointment. “Well, either way, there isn’t anything I can do right now, so let’s focus on the afternoon appointments.”

Beth simple nodded and turned back to her computer, leaving May alone with her thoughts. Did Tony really care for her like Beth said? Was her coworker right when she alluded to May being better for Tony than someone like Pepper? There was no way that was true!

Besides, Peter himself told May all about Pepper showing up in Tony’s lab one day while Peter was there and talking about business and different meetings she needed him to attend. Peter told her that after Pepper had left that day, Tony talked about how they decided that for the good of Stark Industries, they needed to start reconciling and working through their differences to be a united front as owner and CEO.

Now, May knew that those facts didn’t mean they were going to become a couple again, but the possibility was there, and that was all the reason May needed to believe that ultimately, Pepper was a better choice. What could a middle-class, widowed and essentially single mother have that someone successful and beautiful like Pepper Potts didn’t have?

May shook those thoughts away as she walked to her next appointment, and didn’t let them come up in her mind again for the rest of the day.

Until she was at home later that evening, curled on the couch and reading a book while she waited for Peter to come home from patrolling. She heard her phone go off, pulling her out of the world of conspiracies, historical architecture, and life-and-death adventures around Europe. She reached her hand out of her blanket cocoon and grabbed her cell from the coffee table.

_Karen just alerted me that Spiderbaby is en route back home. Thought you’d like to know_

She smiled and set back her thanks. Her earlier conversation with Beth and the thoughts that followed flew right back to the forefront of her mind. Before she could dive too far into her insecurities and overthinking of the situation, she heard a window open and a muffled thump as Peter tripped on his own legs while crawling through his window into his bedroom.

“May! I’m back!”

She chuckled and unfurled from the blanket as Peter stumbled into the living room. She smiled and gestured for him to join her in the blanket bundle. He happily curled up next to her and gave her a hug that she gladly returned.

“How was your patrol, baby?”

Peter hummed and snuggled closer to her. She appreciated that no matter what other teenagers thought about physical affection, Peter was always willing to give her a hug or a kiss to the cheek, and on occasion, the evening snuggles on the couch. It made her think back to when Ben was alive and it seemed like it was just the three of them against the world. Peter would crawl into bed with them, and Ben and May would hold Pete between them to show him all the love and affection his parents were never given the chance to.

“It was good. I helped several old ladies and rescued 5 different cats. The same lady bought me another churro. I think she just waits for me now, but I’m not complaining because churros are really good.”

May smiled into her nephew’s hair as he rambled about his day to her. No matter what happened in her life, Peter was always able to provide the much needed distraction from her thoughts to bring her back to the present.

Once Peter completely filled her in on his patrol, she pulled back and gave him a soft smile while running her fingers through his curls, pushing them out of his eyes. “How about we do a movie night? You don’t have school in the morning, so we can stay up later than normal then sleep in tomorrow morning.”

Peter grinned and nodded. “Yeah!” He jumped up and ran to the kitchen. “I’ll grab the popcorn and drinks! You pick out the first movie!”

She smiled at his antics and turned the TV on and began browsing different movies for them to watch. “How do you feel about a Back to the Future marathon?”

Peter ran back in with his arms full of a variety of snacks and drinks for the two of them. “When would I ever deny a Back to the Future marathon?”

“True, I should have expected that answer from you.”

Peter just gave her a cheeky grin before settling down beside her. He rested his head on her shoulder as they started the movie.

“Oh, I just remembered! Mr. Stark wanted me to ask you if I could visit the compound this weekend.” Peter said when they were about 30 minutes into the movie.

May looked over in surprise. “When did he ask this?”

He gave her a sheepish grin. “Yesterday?”

May wondered why Tony hadn’t asked her directly. Unless he was trying to give Peter some non-superhero related responsibility. Which, she would admit, would be good for Peter. He tended to forget the little details sometimes.

“When did he say he wanted you at the compound?”

“He didn’t give an exact time, he said to just let him know when we were ready to go and he’d send Happy to pick us up.”

She stopped short. “Wait, what do you mean, when _we_ are ready to go?”

Peter sat up, excitement evident in his face. “Yeah! He said to invite you over too! Wanted to give the grand tour and all that.”

May gave a hum and reached over for her phone. She opened her contacts and found Tony’s name right up front. She was about to call him then and there, but remembered Peter’s heightened hearing and didn’t want him eavesdropping on the conversation. She opened up a text instead.

_So I hear we’re coming to your place tomorrow? Finally tired of the tiny apartment life?_

She hadn’t even closed out of the message app when a text from Tony popped up.

_Peter finally asked your permission? Good._   
_Yes, you’re both invited to the Compound for the weekend. Hap will come pick you guys up whenever you want to come over._

May looked up from her phone and saw Peter trying to read the conversation. She gave his shoulder a shove and a mock glare. “Excuse me? Privacy much?”

Peter just grinned and shrugged. “I was just trying to see if there was a yes or no somewhere in there.”

May chuckled and shook her head. “Alright, you cheeky monkey. Let’s finish this movie then head to bed. That is, if you want to visit the compound tomorrow.”

Peter gasped and nodded enthusiastically. “Really? Oh thank you, May!” He leaned over and completely engulfed her in a crushing hug. Before he could actually hurt her, he pulled back and snuggled down against her side and turned the movie back on. “This is gonna be a great weekend,” he muttered before his focus was completely on the screen in front of them.

May smiled over at his antics then turned back to her phone. Her and Tony talked for most of the second half of the movie, discussing the details of tomorrow’s visit, then just catching up on anything they hadn’t talked about during the week.

She finally put her phone down after they wished each other goodnight and focused on the movie right as Doc was connecting the wire to the clock tower for Marty to get back to his time.  
As soon as the movie ended, May and Peter both stood up to get ready for the. May turned and wrapped Peter in one last hug, wishing him good night and letting him know they need to be ready for Happy by 10 the next morning.

As May laid in bed that night, trying to fall asleep, all she could think about once again was her conversation with Beth, and how much she secretly hoped the old woman was right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beth became much more a fun character to write than I had anticipated. She has now took on the roll as everyone's unofficial grandmother who is trying to secretly help everyone with the obvious but oblivious things in their lives. We all need or know someone like that.
> 
> Still trying to decide were Thanksgiving should be held. Let me know what you think! At the compound or May and Peter's apartment?
> 
> Thanks for all the love and support for this fic! I'm being pushed to write it even on days when I don't want to because I know you guys are enjoying it and waiting for more, so thanks for being the encourage to keep writing!
> 
> As always, comments are the way to my heart, and if you guys have any ideas and prompts you want to see happen, let me know!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all, I'm so excited. I was trapped at the DMV for SIX HOURS today (which should be a crime) and while I was there I was working on finishing the next chapter and I cannot wait for you guys to read it. I then realized I needed to post this chapter first, so take this as a gift to hold you until chapter 10.

The next morning, May was awoken to the noise of someone stumbling around the kitchen. She checked her phone to see that it was 7:30 in the morning. She groaned and closed her eyes again until she heard a loud crash come from the kitchen. She jumped out of bed and rushed to the other room to find Peter quickly trying to clean up smashed eggs from the floor.

“Peter! Are you okay? What happened?” She hurried over to his side and picked up the frying pan from the floor and grabbed some paper towels to help her nephew with the mess.

He grinned sheepishly. “Sorry, May. I woke up early and figured I’d try to make breakfast for us, so you could sleep a little more.”

May smiled at that. Sometimes Peter still surprised her with his heart for others. She looked around though and tried to find what warranted her nephew flinging a frying pan of eggs onto the floor. “So, what happened during your cooking adventure that left the eggs on the floor and not on the plates?”

Peter blushed and looked down at the floor and mumbled an answer.

May chuckled and leaned closer to him. “Peter, what did you say?” 

He looked over at her quickly before looking back at the ground. “I- I saw a spider.” He muttered a little louder.

May pursed her lips together in an attempt to keep herself from laughing. Only Peter. “You,” she started, a chuckle slipping out when Peter gave her a weak glare as his cheeks redden at the amusement extremely evident on her face. “You saw a… spider?”

Peter stood up and dumped the pan in the sink. “Don’t laugh, May!”

May couldn’t hold it in anymore. “I’m sorry, honey, but come on. You, _Spider-man_ , dropped a pan of eggs because you saw a _spider_?”

Peter blushed even harder and crosses his arms, trying to keep his glare, fully aware that May thought he looked like an angry kitten. “Spiders are scary May! Especially after having one bite me and I wake up able to climb walls and stuff!”

May let herself laugh for several more moments before giving Peter a one-armed hug in comfort. “Well, when you put it like that, your fear is perfectly logical.” She let him go and motioned to the unfinished breakfast. “Come on, let’s finish making this together and then get ready. Happy will be here at 10.”

Peter nodded and they got to work. Soon, the eggs were finished, the bacon was cooked and kept warm in the oven and Peter was pouring two glasses of orange juice while May finished the last of the pancakes. They set the table together and grinned as they quickly dug in.

May tried to remember the last time they had a morning like this. It was peaceful, neither of them were in a rush to get somewhere, it was full of joy and laughter. With a pang, May thought back to how this was a regular tradition on Saturdays when Ben was alive. Saturday mornings was family time for the trio, and they all treasured it, never even thinking of the possibility that those Saturday mornings would ever end.

Now that it’s just the two of them, May had to take more hours which means weekends are sometime work days, and Peter threw himself into school then being a superhero. Without realizing it, their Saturday morning breakfasts faded as a happy memory alongside everything else they did with Ben. Not forgotten, just not followed-through anymore.

She watched her nephew inhale an inhuman amount of food and realized this morning was partially because of Tony. His invitation to the compound was the reason Peter was up so early and not focused on going out of Spider-man for the day. May realized that maybe Tony was more helpful to the Parkers than anyone had realized.

After the two of them ate their fills of breakfast, it was about 9:30, so the pair quickly rushed around to get ready for the day, Peter having warned May about Happy’s displeasure with waiting for people.

By 10am sharp, both Peter and May are walking out the front doors of their apartment building to see Happy standing next to a black Audi holding the back door open for the two of them to climb in. Peter goes in first, May following with a quiet ‘Thank you’ to Happy, who simply closed the door with a grunt.

May looked over at Peter as he giggled. “That’s Happy-speak for ‘You’re welcome’ Don’t take it personally.” She gave him a sceptical look, but he just laughed.

Happy had quickly put up the privacy divider once Peter started talking excitedly to the man. Before May could react on defense of her nephew though, the teenager in question gave her a wink and shook his head. “He just does it to keep up appearances. That’s what Mr. Stark says.” He gave her a sly grin and leaned closer to her. “Mr. Stark has me do that so then we can talk and Mr. Stark makes jokes without Happy hearing.”

May rolled her eyes at her kid’s antics. They settled in for the hour drive, and before they knew it, Happy was pulling into the Avengers Compound.

Peter, having quickly gotten use to the sight as they drove in, grinned and watched as May just stared at everything, awe in her eyes. The look didn’t leave as they exited the car either. She slowly turned in a circle, taking in all her surroundings. A quiet wow escaped her lips.

“I know! It’s a little intimidating the first time you see the view.”

Peter and May spun around to see Tony walking towards them, a smile on his face. He spread his hands out to motion towards the compound and everything surrounding it. “Welcome to my humble abode.”

May laughed and shook her head. She walked over to the man, her nephew running ahead with his bag, ignoring them both to go do who knows what. They two adults met halfway and Tony greeted her with a hug.

He pulled back with a large grin on his face. “I’m glad you decided to come over.”

“Well, Peter put his puppy eyes to work.”

Tony hummed and began to lead her back inside and to his personal floor, where they two of them would stay in his guest rooms. “Well, I can’t argue there. The little punk has used those around here a time or two.”

May chuckled. “That’s his true superpower. Those stupid eyes of his. They just make you melt and go with whatever he wants.”

Tony nodded. “You’re not wrong. He had Rhodey eating out of his palm within seconds and the kid doesn’t even realize it.”

Before May could reply, another voice shouted at them from the otherside of the room they just entered.

“He may be able to convince me of stuff, Tones, but that kid has you whipped to whatever he wants.”

May looked over and saw who she presumed was Colonel Rhodes, his leg braces creaking every couple steps. The man walked over, laughing as Tony rolled his eyes but not denying the man’s comment. The Colonel stuck his hand out for May. “It’s nice to meet you, I’m Rhodey. I’m assuming you’re the allusive May Parker?”

May raised an eyebrow but shook his hand nevertheless. “Depends on what you mean by allusive.”

Rhodey laughed and waved a hand at Tony, who was trying to silently get his best friend to not answer the way he knew the man was going to.

“Oh, never in a bad way, Ms. Parker. It’s just that Tony here can’t seem to shut up about you, and your nephew of course.”

May blushed and peaked a glance over at Tony, who was now refusing to look at either of them, trying to hide the blush that was growing from his neck to his ears. Was that true? Did he really talk about her that much? Or was Rhodey exaggerating to embarrass his friend? Either way, it was enough to actually embarrass Tony for her to know that. That has to mean something, right?

 _That man is crazy for you and just doesn’t know it yet._ Beth’s words from yesterday ran through her head. Hope flared for a second in her chest. Maybe the old secretary was right. Gosh, May hoped she was.

Rhodey watched May and Tony both flush and try to simultaneously avoid and sneak glances at each other. He grinned and inwardly shook his head. It seemed like he might be dealing with two oblivious people instead of just one. It seemed like May was potentially feeling the same towards Tony that he felt for her, if their actions meant anything. _I guess I’ll have to do some investigating on my own. Lord knows neither of them are going to do anything._ Rhodey thought to himself. Maybe he’ll get Peter to help him. Or just lock them in a closet.

Peter decided to run into the room at that moment, quickly taking in the scene in front of him. Tony and May refusing to look at each other and Rhodey trying not to laugh. The teen looked at all of them, confused, before pointing over his shoulder to the door he just came through.

“I just put away May and I’s bags.”

The teen’s words seemed to snap Tony and May out of their awkward avoidance, Rhodey still struggling not to laugh at them. Tony coughed and focused on Peter. He threw an arm over the boy’s shoulders and started leading him to the kitchen. “Good job, kid. You wanna go see what we can do about lunch? Rhodey wanted to cook but I don’t trust anything other than his grilled cheese and we’re fresh out of cheese slices.”

His words faded out as they left Rhodey and May standing alone in the hallway by the elevators. Rhodey turned to May and gave her a small smile. “Sorry about that,” he said. “It’s just so easy to get him worked up sometimes. It’s payback for all the crap he used to drag me through.”

May nodded. “It’s ok. I just wasn’t expecting it.” She rubbed a hand on the back of her neck, not really knowing what to say, or at least ask what she wanted to know.

“Was it,” she started, but stopped. Rhodey gave her an expectant look, waiting for her to continue. “Was that true?” She asked.

“Was what true?”

“What you said. Does Tony really talk about me?”

Rhodey laughed. Oh yes, this was definitely going to be a fun weekend for him. “Yes, Ms. Parker-”

“May.”

Rhodey stopped. “What?”

May smiled. “If I’m have to call you Rhodey, you can call my May. Only my patients and Peter’s school call me Ms. Parker.”

Rhodey smiled and nodded. “Alright then, May. Yes, Tones talks about you all the time. Nothing bad of course.” He paused and looked away for moment, sadness and remorse flitting across his features for a split second.

“Tony had been hurt so much in the past, even more so in the last 6 months. He would hide himself away and refuse contact with anyone unless it was mandatory. He always takes all the guilt and blame on himself, even if it’s not his fault. If I didn’t know how proud he was of his sobriety, I would have been worried about him drinking himself death. Instead, he was back to working nonstop. He was tense and fearful of every noise and shadow.”

Rhodey stopped and shook his head, a deep sigh leaving his body. He looked over to May, and she saw how _tired_ he looked all of a sudden. He looked years past his age as his concern for his best friend seeped through his facial features. “Maybe I shouldn’t be telling you all this, but I think you deserve to know.”

May opened her mouth to ask why she deserved to know, but Rhodey kept talking.

“Tony was more terrified and broken than I’d ever seen him, then a month ago, something changed. He started smiling just a little more, and always had his phone on him. Suddenly some of the tension that put up permanent residence in his shoulders left. Just a little bit, but I could tell. As the days went on, he started smiling more, willingly talking to people again. He wasn’t hiding in his lab all the time. Then the Spider-kid started coming over and he would disappear every other day around lunch time after my morning PT, and it was like I was seeing a new man coming out in my best friend. He was still hurt and still broken, but he was beginning to be put together again. And the only change in his life has been you two. He doesn’t see it, but I can. For some reason, you, May, have been what Tony needed to start healing again.”

May was speechless. She knew that every time she saw Tony, the haunted look in his eyes was a little less, and he had stopped flinching everytime she got close to him, but she didn’t know or even think that it was because of her. There was no way. She wasn’t anything special.

“I don’t know why,” she started, her voice just a shocked whisper, “I haven’t treated him any different than I would any of my other friends.”

Rhodey smiled slightly. “But that’s what did it. People don’t treat Tony like a regular person. People just use Tony for his resources and don’t see him as a person. He’s so used to being used he didn’t remember what it was like for anyone to like him for himself. So, I have to thank you for that.”

May murmured a ‘you’re welcome’, but Rhodey continued talking.

“Now though, I need to ask you something.”

“Anything.”

Rhodey took a deep breath and looked back to the doorway to make sure Tony wasn’t in hearing range.

“Tony doesn’t let people in easy. He’s been burned too many times, but he has decided to trust you. Not only that, but he is starting to feel more for you. Tony either doesn’t realize it or is denying his growing feelings, but I know him better than he knows himself sometimes and I can see it. He’s beginning to open his heart to you and I don’t think he can take another break. So all I ask is that you don’t hurt him. Don’t lead him on just to crush him. I don’t think he’d bounce back from another person leaving him like that.”

May looked at Rhodey. The man that was Tony’s best friend. The man Tony saw as a brother, if the way the billionaire talked about him was any indication. Now she knew that the colonel felt the same way. Tony was his little brother, and he was warning her against hurting his brother after everyone else hurt and left the man. She had vowed to herself weeks ago she wouldn’t and now it seemed she needed to make sure Tony’s family knew how she felt too.

Determination and resolve shown in her eyes as she nodded towards Rhodey.

“I made a promise to myself when Tony first came to my apartment to talk about Peter. I saw how hurt he was. He tensed and flinch at any movement I made, as if preparing himself to be hurt and accept the whatever punishment I wanted to give him. No one deserves to think of feel like that all the time. So I promised myself that I would never allow myself to be added to the list of people who caused Tony to feel like that. I’ll promise you the same thing right now. I won’t ever intentionally hurt him. I care too much about him to hurt him like that and know it was my fault. You have my word, Rhodey.”

Rhodey just stared at May after she finished. He was giving her a calculated look, as if looking past all her walls and seeing if she was speaking truth in her promise. After a minute of silence, Rhodey seemed okay with whatever he saw and gave her a short nod. “Good, now that we have that out of the way, let’s go see what those two have concocted for lunch. I don’t know how much I trust the two of them alone in the kitchen.” 

May laughed and nodded in agreement. “True. Peter is good at many things, but cooking is not one of them.”

The two walked into the kitchen, silently agreeing to not bring up their conversation any more. Everything was cleared away and the only way to move from here on out was forward. Whatever that meant for both May and Tony, neither of them knew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I'm still blown away by the love I've gotten for this story, and I am forever grateful for all of it. 
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are the way to my heart and the way you get chapters quicker. I'm always open to any prompts y'all have for me as well!
> 
> Have a great day!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go, chapter 10! I'm so excited for this chapter and I hope you enjoy it!

The weekend went well after May and Rhodey’s talk. They said no more on the matter and Tony was none the wiser about it. Rhodey suddenly got called out to go to D.C. for some important meetings after lunch on Saturday, so it was only Tony, May, and Peter for the rest of the time. Tony saw Rhodey give May a look right before he left, but he couldn’t tell what it had meant, and he was honestly too nervous to ask her about it.

Tony was loving having Peter and May at the compound. The silence was less deafening and the shadows didn’t seem as threatening when he could hear Peter’s rambling and May’s laughs. The rest of their Saturday was split between showing May the different projects he and Peter had been working on during his lab visits and being camped out on the couch for a Star Wars marathon. They had some pizza delivered for supper so they could continue working their way through the iconic movie series.

Tony couldn’t help but feel his heart flutter every time he heard May laugh at him and Peter, or whenever he’d catch her giving him a look that was a fond smile and so much warmth in her eyes. Part of him wished it was just him and May around, to see what would have ended up happening, but he was also glad Peter was there to prevent whatever would happen, or at least whatever he would attempt to do. He was sure there was no way May felt the same way he did. He was too broken, had too much baggage for someone like her to care about. Especially when she already had Peter to look after.

Sunday came around and the trio found themselves back in the kitchen making a large brunch. Tony was in charge of pancakes, blueberry and chocolate are a must. May was making eggs and toast while Peter made the bacon and set the table. They worked in a mix of comfortable silence when focus was needed, and laughter when they were able to goof around. It felt comfortable and safe and warm, something that Tony knew had been missing from the compound for far too long.

They finally made their way to the table and began to eat, complimenting each other on a job well done. Tony and Peter began a small food fight by throwing blueberries at each other, while May just laughed at their antics. The meal was just about finished when the sound of heels clicking in the hall alerted them of a new person.

Pepper walked into the kitchen, looking down at her phone so she could finish composing then send an email to a disgruntled board member. Tony smiled at her appearance into the kitchen, and Peter gave a wave once the woman looked up and over to them. She smiled and waved back, greeting Tony with a quick kiss on the cheek before moving to the coffee machine.

“Morning Tony, hello Peter,” she called out greetings as she poured herself a cup of coffee, obviously very family with the kitchen layout. She turned back to the table and saw May sitting there as well. Pepper smiled and walked over, holder her free hand out to the other woman. “I’m Pepper, you must be May. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

May forced a friendly smile onto her face and shook the other woman’s hand. Her heart had dropped to her stomach when she saw the Pepper walk in and greet Tony. She knew it was too good to be true, no matter what other people had said. It was obvious that Pepper was a better choice for Tony and and he seemed to realize that himself. Instead of staying in pity though, May resolved right then to still be close friends with Tony, like she promised Rhodey, and maybe even get into Pepper’s good graces too.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well.”

Peter seemed to notice something change, as he looked up from his plate and watched May and Pepper for a moment before glancing at Tony to see if his mentor noticed anything as well. The teen had noticed the May and Tony exchanging odd looks all weekend, but her was never one to understand subtle social cues, at least according to Ned and MJ. He’ll just tell his friend about it all at lunch on Monday and see what they had to say about it.

Tony was either completely oblivious, or feigning it as he chose to ignore the slight tension that arose from the two women. He just grinned at them both, happy to see his two favorite ladies in the same place. After several slightly awkward moments, he knew he had to say something, so he cleared his throat, all eyes turning to him.

“Um, was there something you need, Pepper?”

That seemed to push Pepper back into business mode. “Oh! Yes, right. I came over to remind you to sign all the contracts and papers I sent you on Friday. I need them for the meetings and two sales proposals I have to be at tomorrow. I also wanted to make sure you knew about the 2 O’Clock meeting we have with David from legal pertaining to the accusations Apple is trying to pin us on.”

Tony threw his head back and groaned. “Why do I have to be with you and David? There’s a reason you’re CEO Pep.” He gave her a pleading look, using his puppy eyes to their full extent. “I’ll have every paper that you gave me signed and on your desk by 9am if I can skip the legal meeting.”

Pepper rolled his eyes and swatted his shoulder. “I expect all those papers signed and on my desk by 9am anyways, Tony. And there’s no arguing about this. You’re still the owner of the company, so you need to be there to discuss any potential lawsuits from rival companies.”

Tony scoffed. “Please, they have to be a threat to be considered a rival. Apple has nothing on Stark Tech and everyone knows it.”

Pepper gave a long-suffering sigh of years of patience. “I know, Tony, but you still need to be there. Set a good example for your protege.” She gestured to Peter, who had been watching the interaction with rapt attention and amusement.

Tony gave an overly dramatic sigh and smirked when he heard Peter giggle. “Fine,” he moaned, eyes alight with mirth and amusement. “I guess I’ll be at the meeting with you and David at three-”

“Two.”

“At two o’clock.”

Tony gave Pepper a cheeky grin before turning back to his plate to take his last bite of a pancake. Pepper merely huffed and shook her head. She turned to May and gave her a smile. “Can you remind him about the meeting when he’s at lunch with you?”

May gave a simple nod. She was trying to mask her quickly dropping feelings and was hoping that Pepper would leave soon so she could retreat to the guest room she slept in last night. She wanted to give herself a chance to breathe and get her emotions in check before Peter or Tony notice.

Her wish was granted soon enough. Pepper had to leave to meet someone for something May hadn’t been paying attention to. The woman said her goodbyes and walked back out the way she came. May also got her wish of being alone, as Tony took it upon himself to have Peter help him clean up after breakfast so May could go pack their bags to head back to Queens.

Before they realized it, Peter and May were putting their bags in another car, preparing for the drive back to Queens and their regular life. Tony walked them out of the compound and to the car, when May saw Happy wasn’t waiting for them. Tony must’ve noticed her confused look because he just winked at her.

“Happy had the day off, so I figured I’d drive you guys home.”

May was about to protest, but Peter turned towards his mentor with a gasp.

“You’re driving us, Mr. Stark?”

Tony laughed and ruffled the teen’s hair. “Yeah, kid. As long as you don’t mind.”

Peter shook his head, excitedly. “No! Of course I don’t mind, Mr. Stark!”

“Good. I’m glad I have your permission, kid.”

May watched the interaction with a small smile on her face, once again thankful that Peter has found a male role model in his life. Tony looked up right at that moment and caught her eye, giving her a soft smile.

They all loaded into the car, Peter jumping into the back and May sliding up front with Tony. The long drive was mostly spent by Peter rambling about the weekend and his plans at school for the week while Tony threw in some quips and jokes at Peter’s expense.

There was a lull in the conversation when they hit Manhattan when May realized what week it was. “Hey Tony?” She called, getting the man’s attention.

“Yeah?”

“Since this week is Thanksgiving, Peter won’t be able to come for a lab visit that Thursday.”

Tony glanced over at May for a second before nodding. “Sure. Family time and all that. I totally understand. He’ll come on Tuesday then I see him next week.”

May could tell something was bothering Tony about their little schedule becoming messed up, but she didn’t know what. Rhodey’s words about people just using Tony his whole life floated through her head. “Or…” she began.

Tony cocked an eyebrow and gave her a side look, still trying to focus in driving. “Or?”

“Or, you could come over to our place for Thanksgiving,” She quickly added, “If you don’t already have plans of course.”

Tony smiled and looked over once he conveniently stopped at a red light. “I would love to come over for Thanksgiving. Everyone else is going to be gone with their families.”

May rested her hand on his arm. “Well, you’re always welcome in our little home.”

The two smiled at each other until Peter looked up from his phone and saw the light change. “Mr. Stark, the light’s green.”

May let her hand fall away as Tony chuckled and started driving again. “Thanks Underoos.”

Soon after, the trio found themselves pulling up in front of the Parker’s apartment building. Peter shouted a goodbye over his shoulder to Tony, who just laughed and told the boy by as well. Tony helped May get their two bags from the car before wishing her a goodbye as well.

“I’ll see you for lunch tomorrow?” He asked, hopefully.

May shrugged, smirking at him. “I guess that depends. Will you remember to go to the legal meeting you have after?”

Tony groaned and rolled his eyes, prompting a laugh out of May. They eventually said their goodbyes and went their separate ways for the day.

* * *

 The beginning of the week went as usual, lunches and lab visits like always. Wednesday evening, while May was preparing all the food she was going to be making for dinner the next night when her phone buzzed twice. The first text she saw was from Tony, asking if there was anything specific she wanted him to bring for the dinner. She told him to be in charge of deserts.

The second text was from one of her coworkers, and it was a link to an online newspaper, and the simple message, _I’m sorry, honey_. Confused, she clicked the link and found herself looking at a picture of Tony and Pepper laughing and hugging at a coffee shop. The picture was from that Monday, as Tony was wearing the same clothes he was wearing at lunch with her that day. The headline of the article read _America’s Power Couple Together Again?_

May skimmed the article, most of it being speculation about the two of them dating again, as they’ve been seen in public more often recently and showing obvious displays of affection like that in the picture.

May wasn’t horrible surprised, as this was what she had been expecting to happen, but that didn’t stop the hurt that shot through her. It made her wonder why he still agreed to come over for Thanksgiving, but maybe he just wanted to come as a friend and mentor for the family. Either way, she would suck it up and act like nothing has changed. Her and Tony could still be friends.

 

The next day Peter was vibrating with excitement as he helped May as much as he could in the kitchen. He couldn’t wait for Tony to get there and it was extremely obvious to the amused May.

“When did he say he was coming over?” Peter asked for the 50th time that morning.

May sighed and closed her eyes. She knew he was just excited, but sometime his energeticness was just a little too much. “He’ll be here around 4, Peter. The time hasn’t changed since you asked me half an hour ago.”

Peter gave her a sheepish smile and stopped fidgeting for a moment. “Sorry, May.”

May smiled at her nephew and pulled him into a hug. “It’s ok, honey. I know you’re just excited to have Tony over.”

Peter hugged May back then stepped away to go back to making the stuffing they were working on. “Did Mr. Stark tell you what deserts he was bringing?”

“No he didn’t, but knowing Tony, it’ll be a lot of whatever he brings.”

Peter laughed and agreed.

The duo spent the rest of the afternoon finishing the dishes and started setting the table when 4pm rolled around and they heard a knock at the door. Peter gasped and ran over to the door, throwing it open.

“Mr. Stark!” Peter exclaimed excitedly. He moved out of the way so the billionaire could make his way into the apartment, carrying a bag full of deserts.

Tony smiled and nodded to the teen. “Hey, kid! Thanks for grabbing the door.” He walked towards the kitchen to set the deserts down when he saw May setting down the last dish onto the table. He paused and watched May for several seconds, her being completely unaware of what he’s doing. Suddenly, he felt something shove him forwards. Tony gave a grunt of surprise and stumbled forward a couple steps, alerting May of his whereabouts and cause Peter to let out a laugh.

The teen laughed and started pushing Tony into the kitchen. “Come on, Mr. Stark! The sooner you put up the dessert, the sooner we can eat!”

May laughed and moved to help Tony unpack all the boxes of pie. She gave him a look and he just gave a sheepish shrug.

“I didn’t know what kind of pie you guys liked, so I got a bunch of different ones.”

“Well, I don’t know if we’ll be able to eat it all, but I’m certain the bottomless pit of a stomach over there,” she gestured to Peter, who gave an indigent squawk of protest, “will finish whatever we don’t.”

Tony laughed in agreement. “True, and we should probably get to eating before he digs in ahead of time.”

May chuckled when Peter crossed his arms and grumbled in annoyance. She reached over and ruffled his hair. “Yes, we know you have an enhanced metabolism and you can’t help it that you’re always hungry. Let’s go sit down and eat.”

Peter grumbled for a second before racing to the table, impatiently waiting for the two adults to join him.

Tony and May both chuckled and joined Peter at the table. The three of them enjoyed the meal, which was full of laughs and joking around, and a general sense of warmth and even potentially a bit of domesticity. For May and Peter, it felt like a hole in their life, especially during the holidays, was suddenly filled. They weren’t alone against the world anymore. The two of them had someone else fighting with them in their corner. The feeling of loneliness was also lost on Tony for once. His original plans for holiday was to sit alone in his lab with his bots, eating pizza and working on a new Startphone update. Instead, here he was sitting with two people who were suddenly an integral part of his life, and he was laughing and enjoying life as if nothing was wrong in his world.

After dinner and the clean up from dinner, Tony found himself in the Parker’s living room, watching movies with Peter and May curled up with him. Peter somehow found himself cuddled up against Tony’s side, the teen’s head resting on his shoulder. May was sitting next to Peter, but was still close enough to Tony’s extended arm, that she found him absentmindedly drawing random shapes on her shoulder to keep from twitching too much.

After several movies, Peter stumbled sleepily to bed, giving hugs and wishing both May and Tony goodnight. The two adults then found themselves sitting on the couch with an awkward Peter-sized space sitting between them.

Tony could tell there had been something bothering May all week, and figured now was as good as time as any to ask her about it. He paused the movie, and turned to face May, who was looking at him, confused.

“Today was really nice,” he started. “Thanks again for inviting me. I really appreciate it.”

May smiled at him. “Of course, Tony. Like I said, you’re always welcome in our home.”

“Yeah? That’s- that’s really nice of you. I don’t know what I did to deserve that kind of trust or friendship from you-”

May shook her head and interrupted him, putting her hand on his arm, as she tended to do when she wanted him to pay attention to what she was about to say. “Tony, you’re my friend. You have become an important part of both mine and Peter’s lives. I don’t know how, but you did, and I’m thankful to call you my friend. Just keeping being there for Peter and you’ll always be welcome here.”

Tony smiled and hesitantly brought his hand to hold one side of May’s face, praying he was reading the situation the right way. “I’ll always be there for Peter, May, I promise. I will also always be here for you, if you’ll let me.”

May leaned into Tony’s touch and took a deep breath, he eyes fluttering closed. They stayed like that for a moment, before May opened her eyes again and locked her gaze with Tony. “I think I’d like that,” she whispered, leaning slightly closer to Tony.

She watched as Tony began leaning closer to her and unconsciously, she moved towards him. May watched his chocolate-brown eyes close as their lips softly met. She closed her eyes as she returned his gentle kiss. They continued to kiss, the intensity growing until they were toying the line of harmless to something with deeper motive in their actions. Tony softly moaned against her lips and moved one hand to her waist and brought his other hand up to gently cup the back of her head, his fingers curling into her hair.

Tony’s moan snapped May to her senses and she quickly broke off the kiss and shoved Tony in the chest, putting as much room between the two of them that she could. She stared at him for a split second, eyes wide with panic, before quickly turning to head toward the kitchen. She just needed to get as far away from the handsome man she left sitting on the couch in the middle of her living room.

_Said handsome man also has a girlfriend._ She reminded herself. _One that is much more successful and beautiful than me. Dear Lord, why did_ I _let him kiss me? Why did I kiss him_ back _?!_

The hand that grabbed her at her elbow pulled May out of her panicked thoughts. May whirled around to find Tony standing far too close for her comfort, or more honestly, her self control. She could see where his hair was slightly messed up from her hand gliding through it, he was slightly panting, and there was this look in his eyes that she couldn’t discern at the moment. She tried to take a step back and away from Tony, but the billionaire just followed with a step of his own.

“May…” he started, reaching a hand out towards her face. She pulled back before he could touch her and she shook her head.

“Tony, we- we can’t do this,” she stuttered, still shaking her head. No matter what she had started feeling for the superhero, she would not be the reason he be labeled a cheater, especially on someone who seemed as sweet as Pepper.

Tony frowned and cocked his head to the side slightly, and just watched her with a disappointed look in his eyes. “Why?”

May had to look away at how defeated he sounded with just one, simple word. She closed her eyes and took a breath. She shook her head instead of answering and tried to back away from him. She squeaked in surprise when she felt him grab her wrists and pull her back towards him.

“May,’ he began, his voice thick with emotions, his eyes shining with each and every one. “May, please. Why can’t we do this, _be_ this?”

She opened her eyes and saw his chocolate ones inches from her, looking directly into her as if staring into her soul. He must have taken her silence for her answer and began pleading with her.

“Please, just give me one reason and I’ll leave. I’ll step back and be Peter’s mentor at the tower and compound and let you guys live your life and you won’t have to see me again. I don’t know what I did, but please just tell me.”

“Pepper.”

He stop and stared in shock. “What?”

May took a step back and shook her head again. “Y-you and Pepper. I saw that newspaper talking about you. A-about how you two are working through your differences and are together again. Peter has said the same thing before. Tony, I can’t and _won’t_ tear the two of you apart. As much as I want to be an _us_ , I refuse to do that to someone who’s already in a relationship.”

Tony was silent for a moment before he started laughing. May watched, confused as the man moved from chuckles to full, bent-over belly laughs. Tony laughed for several minutes before finally quieting down, wiping a stray tear from his eye. He looked over at her with the largest grin on his face before taking several large strides and ending up mere inches from her own body, his hands cupping her face.

“Tony,” she whispered, watching his movements with hopeful caution.

He just chuckled and shook his head. “May, I can _promise_ you that Pepper and I have been broken up for over a year and don’t plan on ever being together that way ever again. She’s my best friend and like a little sister to me now. That’s it and that’s all there ever will be. I promise.”

May gave a small grin and look up into his eyes, hers alight with hope, happiness, caring, and dare he say it, a little bit of love. Tony grinned down at her and slowly moved towards her, eyes flicking from her gaze to her lips and back.

“Was that your only reason to argue against this?” He whispered, his breath mingling with hers, not breaking the intense eye contact they were holding.

“I think so, but maybe we should just test the waters first.”

“Well, in that case, let’s start the first experiment in our test. I am a scientist after all.”

With that, Tony leaned down and let their lips meet for the second time, grinning into the kiss. Because he knew for a fact this was not going to be the last time he kissed May Parker.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you think in the comments! I love hearing y'all's thoughts on the story!
> 
> Have a great day!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the love from the last chapter! I'm really glad ya'll seemed to enjoy it as much as I did! 
> 
> So I just quit my job and subsequently started a new one while also being in the interview process for a second job. All that being said, updates will be a little slower as I settle into my new schedules. 
> 
> This chapter was supposed to be longer, but I had to cut it in half otherwise it was going to be too long.

Not much changed for Tony and May after Thanksgiving. They never specifically talked about ‘defining the relationship’ because it was obvious enough for the two of them what they were. They had finally stopped avoiding their feelings and found themselves going from Tony and May to _Tony and May_.

They spend a while longer making out on the couch on Thanksgiving, but neither of them had wanted to rush whatever it was they had. Instead, Tony finally left that night with one more goodbye kiss and the dopiest grin on his face.

Rhodey took one look at him the next day and muttered something about Tony finally getting his head out of his ass and doing something about May. To which Tony spluttered protests for a minute but couldn’t deny anything that Rhodey said, and instead just admitted to the fact that yes, he finally got his act together and kissed the Italian woman.

When May went to work that Friday, and the moment Beth saw her, the old woman patted her shoulder and congratulated her on finally coming to her senses. May didn’t know what to say to that, so she just blushed and stuttered a response, hurrying over to see what her schedule for the day would look like.

Tony showed up that day for lunch, just like every other Friday, but this time he didn’t hesitate in walking up to May and greeting her with a kiss, to which she pleasantly returned. She blushed and hid her face in Tony’s neck when all her coworkers starting cheering and clapping. Apparently Tony had charmed all her coworkers while he would wait for her to for lunch and they had been rooting for him since the beginning.

Tony just laughed and wrapped his arms around her, nodded his thanks to the rest of the staff. Beth took pity on May and shooed everyone back to their stations, while Tony led May down to the breakroom for lunch.

The next week went pretty much the same way. Tony had a handful of evening meetings and May was working a couple of later shifts at the hospital, so neither of them had been free to go out on their first official date. To make up for that, Tony was more than willing to gift May with all the physical affection she wanted, and seemed to never not be touching her when they were together, whether that was a kiss, a hug, holding her hand, or just an arm wrapped around her waist.

They hadn’t told Peter, since it was still so new for them and that they wanted to do it together and their schedules hadn’t allowed it yet. They also wanted to make sure they would work as a couple before telling Peter anything.

So they worked on hiding their relationship as much as they could. They didn’t do much together as a trio, so Peter didn’t see them together much, which helped Tony and May avoid the subject until they were ready to talk about it.

 

Two weeks after Thanksgiving, Tony found himself waiting for May at the hospital with her favorite coffee, an almond milk mocha with an extra shot of espresso from Laughing Man Coffee. Sometimes Tony thought she was a bigger caffeine addict than he was after learning some of her coffee orders.

It was a Thursday, and normally Tony would be at the compound with Peter, but he had a last minute decathlon practice for their upcoming meet. The kid also was planning on studying and writing an English paper over at his friend’s house afterwards, which allowed Tony the ability to be standing here waiting for May to finish her shift.

He was standing by the reception desk at his usual spot, chatting with some of the other staff that have gotten used to seeing him there. Tony was looking at some emails on his phone when he felt a gentle hand on his arm. He looked up from his phone and smiled when he saw Beth standing there. He had come to enjoy seeing and talking to the old woman. She reminded him of the grandmother he never had, and was always happy to talk to her.

“Beth! How are you?” Tony set the flowers down and reached over to greet her with a hug. He never used to be a person who like physical contact, but some people just brought it out of him. Beth and May were both some of those people.

Beth smiled and returned the hug. “I’m doing well, Tony. I was surprised to see you, since it’s not your regular visiting days.”

Tony shrugged and moved away, letting the woman walked back behind her desk. “Oh you know, I have to shake it up sometimes.”

Beth just smiled and gave him a knowing look. “Yes, of course.” She turned to the papers on her desk and was quiet for a moment while she organised a few things.

“I see you and May finally worked out some things?”

Tony blushed and smiled, looking down at his feet. “We’re getting there.”

“Mhmm. That kiss two weeks ago would beg to differ.”

Tony’s face turned even redder, but before he could reply, she kept talking.

“You know I’ve been rooting for you since you first came to surprise May with lunch, but I do want you to know that you will have some serious explaining to do if you end up hurting that woman. Her life hasn’t been the easiest, these past four years being even more difficult. Especially with Ben and becoming a single mother to a teenage boy who is way too smart for his own good. She’s had to step up and refuse to quit on life. She’s very stubborn when she wants to be and has had a hard time letting people into her life.”

Beth pauses and gives Tony another knowing look. “Except for you.”

Tony gave her a quizzical look. “What do you mean?”

“Ever since Ben’s… accident, May closed herself off and put all her focus into her boy. She didn’t want to deal with anymore heartbreak like that and had pushed everyone away. Yet, you found a way to sneak past all her defenses and convinced her to let you into her personal life. I’ve told you before that she didn’t want to accept that her feelings for you were growing into more than friendship. You didn’t want to admit it either. Now you’ve both let each other in, but I still must warn you, Tony Stark. May Parker is a strong woman, but everyone has their breaking point. She can’t take another heartbreak like what happened after Ben. So don’t screw this up, or you will have a lot to be answering for.”

Part of Tony wanted to laugh at the fact that this sweet old lady was essentially giving him the shovel talk for May, but the bigger part of Tony knew that she wasn’t joking and he was frankly intimidated by the fact that he knew she would follow through on her promises.

Tony was quiet for a moment, taking in some of the insight on May that Beth offered up, before he looked back at the old woman, resolution and determination clear in his eyes.

“Beth, I promise you that I never want to hurt May and I’ll do everything in my power to keep her from getting hurt. I know she’s had a hard life, and I never want to add to that. I want to help make the rest of her life easier. Both her life and Peter’s.”

Beth stared at him for a moment, face blank and not giving anything away, before suddenly grinning and nodding her head. “Good. I believe you, dear. I just had to make sure you knew, yourself.”

Without another word, she turned back to her work, leaving Tony to just stare at her. After several minutes, he turned back and picked up the disregarded flowers and proceeded to wait for May.

Fifteen minutes later, Tony grinned as he saw May making her way towards the reception desk, bag on her shoulder and phone in hand. He waited until she looked up and saw him waiting for her, flowers in hand.

“Tony! What are you doing here?” She greeted him with a quick kiss and smiled when he handed her the bouquet of lilies and roses.

“I wanted to ask if you were free Saturday night.” He started walking with her to the elevator, wanting to walk her to her car.

May hummed and reached out to intertwine her fingers with his. “Oh? And why is that?”

Tony gave her hand a squeeze and stopped when they were near her car. May just gave him a knowing smile while he tried to work out what he wanted to say. He cleared his throat and gave May a smile.

“I wanted to know if you were free on Saturday because I have dinner reservations for 7pm. I wanted to ask you out.”

May set the flowers down on the hood of the car before turning back to Tony and giving him another kiss before wrapping her arms around him in a hug. “I would love to go out with you on Saturday. What time do I need to be ready by?”

Tony grinned and stepped back out of the hug. “I’ll pick you up at 6:30. Is Peter still planning on staying Ned’s this weekend?”

“Yeah, they want to finish that English essay he’s been complaining about all week.”

“Ok, good. Do you want to talk to Peter before or after Saturday?”

“Let’s wait until afterwards. Just to be safe and so we have an idea of where we’re going before we tell him.”

Tony nodded. “Sounds like a plan. I’ll see you later.” He gave her another hug as goodbye before they went into their respective cars and drove off, already thinking about Saturday evening.

* * *

Saturday came around, and May tried not to tip anything off to Peter before he left for Ned’s. Or at least, he said Ned’s house, but May knew he was going to patrol sometime during that as well.

She spent the morning and early afternoon cleaning and catching up on the growing pile of laundry that never seems to end. May tried to use the chores as a way to keep her mind busy, but her nerves ended up getting the better of her. She was thankful that Peter took off for Ned’s house and to patrol fairly soon after breakfast, otherwise she knew that he would pick up on her nerves and inevitable try to figure out what was wrong.

May eventually gave up on trying to distract herself and just began counting down until it was time for her to start getting ready.

 

Tony was also freaking out. He was at the tower, trying to get some lab time for SI in, but found himself continuously distracted by imagining everything that could go wrong on his date with May.

The worst outcome he could imagine he imagined is that it went so horrendously that the woman ended up forbidding him to have any more contact with her or Peter, and that terrified him. Somehow both Parkers found themselves worming their own spots into his life and now doesn’t want to imagine his life without either of them in it.

Pepper walked into Tony’s lab just as he completely gave up on his R&D ToDo list. He gave a grunt of frustration and pushed himself away from his lab table, running a hand through his hair in a very agitated fashion.

“Tony? Is everything alright?”

Tony jerked his head up at Pepper’s question, obviously surprised by her presence. “Pep! When did you get here?”

“Just now. I was coming to check and see if you’ve signed any of the contracts I sent you. Don’t sidetrack me though, what’s wrong?”

Tony knew trying deflect would be useless, so he just gave a defeated sigh and sank onto the couch he kept in the corner. He buried his face in his hands and knew Pepper had followed him over when he felt her petite hand rubbing his shoulder.

“I asked May out on a date tonight,” he mumbled into his hands.

Pepper blinked, but quickly masked her surprise before Tony looked up at her with an eyebrow raised in skepticism.

“No comment?”

Pepper sighed and shook her head. “Tony, we’re both grown adults and we aren’t together anymore. I have no say in who you date.”

“But I can tell you want to say something about it.”

“I was just surprised you finally asked her out. Rhodey’s been keeping me up to date on your emotional dilemma and I just can’t believe you finally worked out the nerve to ask her.”

Tony stared at her, not knowing what to say. Finally he just grumbled, “Rhodes is a snitch. And he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

It was Pepper’s turn to raise an eyebrow at him. “Oh, so Rhodey’s wrong about how you’ve been pining after May Parker for almost two months now?” She asked in a teasing tone.

Tony tried to stutter out a response. “I have not been ‘pining after May’ for two months!”

Pepper chuckled and ran a hand through Tony’s hair, knowing that helped him relax. “Uh huh. It sure looked like that last Sunday.”

At the mention of that weekend, Tony started to laugh, which confused Pepper.

“What?” She asked.

Ton just chuckled and shook his head. “Nothing. It just reminded me of what May told me at Thanksgiving.”

Pepper just stared at him with a look that told him to share what he found so funny.

He turned to face Pepper, indicating for her to relax on the couch and get more comfortable, which she did. “So you know how the media thinks we’re back together again?”

Pepper rolled her eyes and nodded. “Yes and it is extremely annoying. David keeps asking -” She stops herself as she sees Tony raise his eyebrows in smug surprise. “Never mind,” she said quickly. “Please continue with your story.”

He smirked and pointed at her. “We aren’t done with the that discussion. We’ll finish talking about my apparent love life then I expect answers about you and _David_.”

His smirk grew when he saw Pepper begin to blush. He so called it after that stupid lawsuit meeting a couple weeks ago, but Pepper had vehemently denied that anything was going on between her and the lawyer. At the moment though, he went with continuing his story.

“Well, I guess May saw one of those stupid articles that claimed us as a couple again and seemed to get it in her head that we were together. She told me this after I kissed her at Thanksgiving dinner. She didn’t want to be the reason we broke up again.”

Pepper smiled, remembering how May had seemed to close herself off when she saw Pepper that Sunday morning at the compound. It all makes sense now, knowing that was what May thought. It had been so obvious to her that Tony and May both had feelings for each other and was surprised to learn they hadn’t been together yet by that weekend.

“She seems like she has good morals if she was willing to deny her own pleasure for the right reasons.”

Tony smiled warmly. “She’s the best. I mean, you’ve met Peter and know how good of a kid he is. He had to learn that somewhere.”

Pepper nodded, but thought of another thing that Tony had mentioned. “Wait, so you two finally got your crap together at Thanksgiving, right?”

Tony nodded.

“So why are you just now asking her out on your first date, two weeks later?”

Tony shrugged. “Our schedules haven’t lined up in the evenings enough to go out.” He paused and rubbed the side of his face, conveniently mumbling something at the same time so Pepper couldn’t hear it.

“I’m sorry, what was that?”

“We also haven’t talked to Peter about it yet.”

Pepper started laughing. “You two have been unofficially together for two weeks now and you haven’t told Peter?”

Tony gave her a look. “Listen,” he began, trying to defend their actions. “May and I agreed not to tell Peter until we’ve gone out a couple times. You know, to make sure this is going to last and all that.”

Pepper just gave him a knowing smile. “Tony, I know you. If you’ve waited this long and have made it this far as to actually make it to a date, it’s already serious and is going to last.”

Tony shrugged. “Well, that’s what I thought about us,” he mumbled.

Pepper sighed and leaned over to kiss his forehead. “Tony, you know why we didn’t work. I love you, but us together ended up being harder for us than staying as just friends.”

Tony shook his head and gave her a smile. “You’re family, Pep. We’ve been through too much to just be friends. Even if we’re not together anymore, you’re still family.”

Pepper gave him a smile and patted his shoulder as she stood up. “Thank you Tony. You’re my family too. Which is why I’m kicking you out of the lab and making you go get ready for your date.”

All of Tony’s previous panic came back full force at Pepper’s comment. He groaned and held his head in his hands as Pepper guided him out of the lab and up to the penthouse, where he stayed about half of the week. He sold the tower then bought it back as Stark Industries instead of a private building, so now it was only focused with SI. He had wanted to completely divide as much of his life as possible, meaning the less SI and the Avengers Initiative mixed, the better.

Pepper laughed at his groans and continued guiding his to his room. “Why are you groaning? Aren’t you excited?”

Tony looked over at her as she started looking through his closet to help him find several options of outfits. “I’m ecstatic about this date, but I’m also terrified. What if I mess it all up? What if it ends so horribly I never get to see May or _Peter_ again?”

Pepper just rolled her eyes and threw him a dress shirt to put on. “Stop over-thinking. You and I both know that’s not going to happen. The fact that you’re this concerned means you’re already going to try your hardest to not screw up. So relax about it and focus on changing to look nice.”

With those last encouraging words, she threw him a suit jacket, pants, and a tie to go with the shirt she threw him. As she walked out of the bedroom, Tony called out his thanks.

“And don’t think I’ve forgotten about you and David!”

He chuckled as she heard her stumble in surprise at the elevator before taking a deep breath and making himself relax and change clothes. His date would be fine. He had this. Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah... Beth. She tells Tony like it is. I haven't forgotten about Peter either, I promise. He'll be in the story much more after next chapter. 
> 
> Tell me what you think in the comments below! I love hearing y'all's thoughts and discussing them with you guys!
> 
> Have a great day!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the love so far guys! It really means a lot. I would've had this finished and out earlier but some unexpected family issues popped up that I was working through, so that was my main focus for the last week. 
> 
> Anyways, here's Tony and May's first date! I hope it's up to par, because I have no experience to pull from, haha.

At 6:30 on the dot, Tony was nervously bouncing on the balls of his feet outside the door of May’s apartment. He took one last deep breath before knocking on the door. He held his breath as the door opened to reveal May giving him a shy smile. She was wearing a knee-length black dress that seemed to accent all the right places, her hair straight and tucked behind one ear, and she was donning a matching set of earrings and necklace. Nothing overly flashy, but still beautiful and just _May_.

May smiled at Tony when she saw him standing at the door. He seemed unable to form any functional words as he stared at her. A faint blush began to rise to her cheeks as the billionaire just stared and grinned at her. After several minutes he cleared his throat and scratched his neck nervously.

“Um… let’s get going. Shall we?”

May nodded and smiled again, reaching to wrap her arm around the one he held out for her to grab. Tony walked her out to the car and held the passenger door open for her, leaning in for a kiss before she completely sat down.

“You look stunning tonight, Ms. Parker.”

“Well, you don’t look so bad yourself, Mr. Stark.”

Tony smirked and quickly got in the driver’s seat and they were soon off towards the restaurant. Tony put some music on a very low level, just to fill the silence on the ride. They kept stealing glances at each other, both too nervous to actually talk about anything.

Finally, May decided to break the surprisingly comfortable silence. “So, are you going to tell me anything about what you have planned for tonight?”

Tony just grinned and winked at her. “Where would the fun in that be?”

May rolled her eyes, but laughed anyways.

They kept driving until May noticed they left her area of Queens and were venturing back into Manhattan. May looked around at all the buildings. “Still not going to tell me?”

Tony just gave her a smile. They kept driving for several more minutes before Tony finally stopped in front of a very expensive restaurant. Something that had never been even close to the spectrum of places to go eat for May. As Tony pulled up to the valet, he handed the keys off and opened her door, holding his arm out to her again.

They walked into the restaurant and up to the host, waiting to show them to their seats.

“Reservation for Stark.”

The young host’s eyes widened at the name, instantly recognizing Tony. May gave the young man an encouraging smile and that seemed to help as he took a deep breath and without a word, led them to their table.

It was a small table for two tucked away in the corner, as hidden from prying eyes as they could get on a Saturday evening. There was a single candle lit and sitting in the middle of the table, two wine glasses sitting next to a bucket of ice and and unopened bottle of sparkling grape juice and an unopened bottle of wine. They followed the host to the table, and Tony gave him a tip as the young man placed the menus on the plates.

Tony pulled out May’s chair for her, to which she gave him a smile as thanks. After asking which drink she’d prefer, Tony poured them both a glass of sparkling grape juice and they quietly looked over the menus to decide what to order.

“Their beef short rib is always a good option.”

May looked up at Tony, blushing when she realized he could see her nervous indecisiveness. She looked back down at the menu and shook her head. “I’ll take your word for it, because I have never been anywhere this fancy before.” She glanced around, quickly meeting his eyes before dropping her gaze back to her plate. “I feel incredibly underdressed.

Tony scoffed and reached across the table to grab her hand. He waited until she was looking back up at him to give it a squeeze and smile at her. “Please, you are by far the most beautiful woman in this entire building, and it has nothing to do with what you’re wearing.” He gave her a wink. “Like I said earlier, you look stunning in that dress. You’re nowhere near undressed. I promise.”

May blushed even more, but smirked and let herself very obviously give Tony a once-over. “You’re looking pretty fine yourself.”

It was Tony’s turn to blush and he gave a cough before taking a sip of water while May tried not to laugh.

A waitress walked up and cleared her throat to get their attention. “Would you like to place your order or do you still need more time?”

Tony glanced at May, who shrugged and gestured for him to order. She trusted him enough to know what she’d like from a place like this.

Tony turned back to the waitress and smiled. “We’ll have one of your braised beef short rib and one of your aged pork chop, as well as a side of roasted brussel sprouts and truffle fries.”

The waitress wrote the order down and smiled at them. “Excellent choices. We’ll have that out for you in about 20 minutes.”

After she walked away, Tony turned back to May and smiled. “So far so good?”

May smiled and reached for his hand again and gave it a squeeze. “It’s going great.”

Tony nodded. “Good.”

They were quiet for a couple minutes, both trying to think of what to talk about. The problem was that they already talked all the time about everything. There wasn’t much they hadn’t talked about in some way, shape, or form. Eventually May just started laughing, cause Tony to give her a confused look.

“This is ridiculous, Tony! Why are we trying so hard? We talk all the time!”

Tony shrugged. “Maybe that’s why we don’t know what to talk about?”

“True, but we still shouldn’t be this awkward about it. Did anything interesting happen today?”

Tony thought for a moment before he grinned. “Oh! I think Pepper is dating someone.”

May quirked an eyebrow at him. “That’s what you want to talk about?”

She let him splutter for a moment before she gave in and laughed, shaking her head. “Relax Tony, I’m just kidding. Why do you think she’s dating?”

He gave her a glare with no heat behind it before telling his story of the conversation from earlier in the lab.

“So, I need to do some more digging, but I think my hunch is right that Pep and Lawyer David are together. And if they aren’t together, there’s at least something going on between them. Maybe I should just lock them in a closet.”

May laughed at that. “Rhodey told me last week that he had planned to lock us in a closet that weekend Peter and I spent at the compound. Until he was called out to D.C., that is.”

“You and Rhodey talk now? That’s not going to end well for me.”

May smirked. “Just wait until Pepper and I meet again.”

Tony groaned and held his head in his hands.

 

The pair kept talking and joking, even as their food arrived and eagerly ate the dishes. All the prior nervousness and awkwardness was completely gone and both Tony and May couldn’t remember the last time they enjoy a date this much.

May felt a small pang of guilt as memories of her and Ben’s first date came to the front of her mind. He had taken her out dancing at a local police bar. She laughed so much that night and for a moment felt in intense pang of grief and sorrow.

But she knew her late husband wouldn’t want her to dwell on old memories. She wanted to believe with her whole heart that Ben would approve of Tony, if how the billionaire has treated her and Peter so far.

Soon, May found herself following after Tony once the check was paid and everyone received a very generous tip. As they waited for the valet to fetch the car, May felt Tony’s arm wrap around her waist and pull her close. She came willingly and rested her head on his shoulder, fingering the lapel of his suit jacket.

“I had a wonderful dinner,” she whispered.

Tony looked down and smiled at her. “Yeah?”

“Mhmm.”

She smiled and leaned up to place a soft kiss against his lips, which he happily returned, just as a soft. It wasn’t a deep and passionate type of kiss, but a soft and short one that spoke of a whole other level of intimacy.

They broke apart and Tony rested his cheek on top of May’s head. “I enjoyed dinner too.”

May hummed and soon their car pulled up and the valet tossed the keys over to Tony. He opened her door for her before running over to the drivers side. As they drove through the streets of New York, May reached over and grabbed Tony’s hand and intertwined their fingers. He smiled at her and gave her hand a squeeze before turning back to the road.

“This isn’t the way back to my apartment,” May commented after several minutes, not recognizing the path they were driving as a way to get back to Queens.

Tonky chuckled. “Come on May,” he said. “You can’t have expected me to have dinner as the only thing planned for our date.” With that, he soon pulled into a parking lot across the street from Central Park. As they both exited the car, he held his hand out for May to take.

“Care to talk a walk with me?”

May smiled and reached to grab his hand. “Always.”

Tony smiled and began leading her through a path deeper into the park. Being the beginning of December in New York, it was quite chilly at 9 at night. The pair could see their breath as they made their trek through the trees. They were quiet as they walked, content to just be in each other’s company without words.

They walked onto a more public path, where the trees were decorated with little white lights that illuminated the area in a soft gold haze. They followed the glittering trees until Tony led May to a small and hidden playground. It consisted of a bench, a picnic table, and a simple swing set with two swings hanging limply from their chains.

Tony smiled at May and gestured towards the swings. “Care to sit for a spell?”

May laughed, but nodded, allowing Tony to guide her over to the swings. They both sat down, letting their weight and momentum set the swings in a gentle motion. Tony watched May look around the park, her eyes alight with amusement and contentment.

As he watched her, he had a realization. He was happy. He wasn’t worrying about something business related for SI, he wasn’t thinking about Ross and the stupid Accords, there wasn’t even any panic lurking in the back of his mind from Rogers and Siberia. He was simply happy and wholeheartedly focused on the moment he was in, sitting on a swing in Central Park with one of the most beautiful women he had ever met.

Without thinking, Tony grabbed May’s hand and brought it up to his lips, softly kissing her knuckles. She smiled at him and gave him a curious look, but said nothing about it.

“Thank you.”

“For what, Tony?”

“For being you.”

May blushed and looked away, but not pulling her hand from his. “I don’t know how being myself is something to thank me for.”

Tony shook his head and moved off his swing. He pulled her up and caught her in a hug. “You broke every expectation I had of you and made me feel human again. You’ve given me the chance to forget about everything going wrong in my life and have allowed me to just live in the moment. So thank you.”

May didn’t know what to say to that, so she just buried her face in his chest, causing Tony to chuckle. “I don’t think first dates are supposed to be this sappy,” she mumbled, causing him to laugh more.

He pulled away and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her into his side. “Well, I never do things the way they’re supposed to be done,” he said as they began their trek back to Tony’s car.

May laughed at that. “Oh yes,” she said. “I know that, and couldn’t be happier about it.”

They looked at each other and Tony couldn’t help but lean down and kiss her again before they continued walking. They were quiet again, until the car came into view. Once again, Tony opened the door for May, to which she smiled at the gesture.

“Tony Stark is secretly a romantic sap,” she teased. “Who would’ve thought.”

Tony rolled his eyes and climbed into the driver’s seat. “Yeah, yeah. Don’t go sharing that knowledge, it’d ruin my image.”

May laughed. “I think it’d make it better. Bad boy to romantic. Sounds like a cheesy romance plot.”

Tony looked over at her, a smirk on his face. “You thought I was a bad boy?”

May flushed under his gaze. “Once upon a time, maybe.”

“Hmm… very interesting. Maybe something to keep in mind.”

“How about you focus on driving back to my apartment first?”

 

Tony ended up walking May back up to her apartment when they arrived. He stopped by the door, watching her unlock it. Once the door was open, May turned back to Tony.

“I had a good time tonight,” he told her.

May smiled. “I did too.” They were silent for a moment then May stepped aside. “Would you like to come in?”

Tony looked conflicted. “I want to say yes, but I don’t want to rush anything…” His voice fading off as he looked embarrassed. He was determined to not ruin whatever he and May had, and if that meant taking it slow, that’s what he’d do.

May shook her head. “No, not like that. I want to take this slow. I just meant, maybe you’d like a coffee or something? We can finish season two of _Sherlock_ tonight, since Peter’s sleeping at Ned’s.”

Tony smiled. “Want me to get the snacks while you get blankets and set up the last episode we were on?”

May grinned, shutting the door after they both made it into the apartment. “Deal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The food they ordered is actually food from a really fancy place that my friends took me to for my birthday last month, and it was sooo good. 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and I can't wait for you guys to read the next one. It's going to be great.
> 
> Let me know your thoughts in the comments and I hope you have a great day!


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm about to fall asleep on my feet, but I wanted to get this chapter posted before i fell asleep.

Peter didn’t know what was going on with his aunt and his mentor, but he knew something was different between them. He had forgotten to bring up the weird Sunday breakfast thing with Ned and MJ at school, claiming to himself that it was just a fluke or something random and to let it go.

Then Thanksgiving happened.

Peter didn’t notice anything different with either May or Mr. Stark, but something must’ve happened that night when his mentor came over for dinner. He noticed May had been acting a little more withdrawn than normal when Mr. Stark was around, but Peter didn’t question it too much, respecting her privacy and all that. So, aside from that behavior from May, nothing seemed odd.

The next morning though, Peter could tell a difference in her behavior. She was smiling and humming to herself when he walked into the kitchen for breakfast before she headed off to work. Peter wasn’t complaining, he was glad May seemed much happier than she had the last couple days. He shrugged it off and went on his way and went out as Spider-man, taking full advantage of a day off of school.

Then, when Peter saw May after she got home from work that evening, he saw she was smiling even more and couldn’t seem to stop. He noticed she even looked slightly excited about something. Peter had wanted to ask her what seemed to make her so happy, but he also wanted to respect her privacy. He knew she would tell him if it affected him.

When Peter went to visit Mr. Stark at the compound, he noticed some of the same things with him. The superhero just seemed generally happier and more relaxed. Peter thought that even some of the stress wrinkles around his eyes had vanished, making him look a little younger.

Peter absentmindedly pointed this out to Mr. Stark in front of Colonel Rhodes, and the man burst out laughing and couldn’t stop. Mr. Stark had just glared at his friend, and Peter could tell there was something they both knew that he didn’t, but the teen didn’t press it. Besides, what right did he have to ask and know all the details of Mr. Stark’s life?

Two weeks of Peter noticing these slight changes has made him slightly suspicious. He knew there was something going on with both of the adults in his life, but he didn’t know what, or if it was even related to each other.

He brought it up to MJ and Ned once at lunch, but they just said he was reading too much into it. Well, Ned did. MJ just shrugged and told him that everyone is entitled to their own privacy. He knew she was right about that point so he just let it go and chalked it up to his imagination.

Until Saturday morning.

It’s been two weeks since Thanksgiving, and Peter almost couldn’t take it anymore. He had no idea what was making May look so happy and nervous at the same time that morning as he was getting ready to head to Ned’s house. The two boys had planned on finishing their stupid English homework then log in some Spider-Man hours with Ned monitoring him from his house. Then an all-night movie marathon was happening.

That wasn’t what Peter was focusing on now, though. May looked like she was about to faint from nerves but also had the biggest smile on her face that he’d seen in years. He really wanted to ask her what was going on, but MJ’s words came back to him. Peter decided to respect May’s privacy and if she decided to tell him, she’d do it when she was ready.

Peter looked at his watch and saw he needed to head over to Ned’s house. He grabbed his bag and ran out of his room to look for May. He found her diligently doing the dishes, scrubbing them as if her life depended on it.

“Hey May!” He called out, trying not to laugh as she jumped at the sound of his voice.

“Yes, Pete?”

“I’m heading to Ned’s house. I just wanted to let you know I was leaving.”

She smiled and walked over, pulling him in for a hug. “Thanks, honey. Have fun tonight and try not to get into too much trouble.”

Peter hugged her back and grabbed his bag, running towards the door. “I’ll try, May!” He opened the door and was about to leave when he remembered something he had forgotten to ask May about.

He turned in the doorway and called out to his aunt. “May, I forgot to ask. Can Ned and MJ come over tomorrow so we can start on a chemistry project we were given yesterday?”

He grinned when he heard a _“Sure”_ come from the kitchen where May and turned back to the dishes. He yelled out a thanks and a goodbye and rushed to Ned’s for a day of relaxation and fun.

 

Ned and Peter had quickly finished the last bit of their English homework, the thought of Spider-Man patrols were a very handy incentive to finish quickly. Soon Peter found himself suiting up while Ned logged into his computer connecting their com channel they've been working on patching into Karen for when Ned was Peter’s man-in-the-chair for patrols.

Peter’s patrol was a pretty successful one in his eyes. He stopped 4 muggings, helped 5 ladies cross the street and rescued 2 kittens from trees, which then in turn had the kids graciously giving him hugs as thanks. That was his favorite part. He got another churro from the same lady, who he recently learned is named Sandy.

Peter returned to Ned’s house in time for Mrs. Leeds to serve supper to everyone. He always enjoyed eating with the Leeds family. They were always so lively and never failed to make Peter feel like a part of their family. Not that he didn’t love and treasure the life he had with May, but sometimes it was nice to be a part of a big family. Lunch with May, Mr Stark and Colonel Rhodes a couple weeks ago reminded him of that feeling too.

After supper, Ned and Peter retired to Ned’s bedroom, where they hunkered down and began their all-night Star Wars marathon. They started with Episode Four, _obviously_ and made it through the first trio before passing out for a couple hours. The two boys resolved to watch the next three with MJ at Peter’s after they finished their chemistry project.

Mrs. Leeds woke them up for breakfast, to which Peter tried not to eat too much of. There were moments where he hated his fast metabolism when it came to how much he had to eat. He already ate out his own refrigerator, he didn’t want to do it to his friend’s family as well.

Ned gave him a look after Peter refused seconds, as if he knew exactly what his friend was thinking. Before Ned could push Peter, Mrs. Leeds came up and gave him second helpings anyways, because _“Growing boys need their nutrients, hun.”_ That stopped the arguments before they could happen.

After breakfast, Peter and Ned found themselves meeting MJ over at Delmar’s, then all three started their trek back to Peter’s house.

“So,” Peter started after several minutes. “May still hasn’t talked about whatever she’s been doing, but I think yesterday had something to do with it. She was acting both really excited and super nervous.”

“Maybe she had a date,” MJ suggested.

Peter shook his head. “Nah, she’d tell me if she was dating again.” He paused and looked at his two friends. “Right? She would tell me if she was dating after Ben?”

MJ and Ned shared a look before Ned spoke. “It wouldn’t be horrible if she did start dating. I mean, it has been four years, Peter.”

“Yeah,” MJ chimed in with a smirk. “Even your aunt needs to get laid sometimes.”

At that, Peter’s face turned bright red and he shook his head, trying desperately to get those mental images out of his head, because ew.

“MJ!” He whined, ignore the laughter from both Ned and MJ. “I don’t want to think about my aunt’s sex life!”

She shrugged. “You’re the one who asked.”

Peter gave a huff and turned to Ned. “I know it’s been four years, but she’d at least tell me if she was moving past Ben, right?”

Ned gave him a sympathetic smile and patted his friend’s shoulder. “I think May would tell you when she is ready. And who knows? Whatever has her excited and nervous might have nothing to do with dating.”

Peter nodded, grateful once again to be friends with someone like Ned. “Yeah,” he agreed. “Maybe she’s getting a promotion or something for work! Or knows a secret about a friend that she can’t tell anyone. It could be anything.”

His friends nodded, and the trio fell into an easy silence while they continued their way to Peter’s apartment. Once they got there, they waited for Peter to unlock the front door and then they made their way into the small, yet cozy apartment.

Peter shut the door and noticed he could hear the TV, but no other noises. _Did May accidentally leave the TV on? She never does that._ With that thought, he quietly walked into the living room, Ned and MJ on his heels. He stopped short and his jaw dropped when he saw the scene on the couch.

 

* * *

 

Tony slowly awoke from sleep to feel a warm weight against his left side and a slight crink in his neck. He slowly blinked the sleep from his eyes and looked down and smiled as he saw May waking up as well. She looked up at him, smiled when she saw him as well.

“Morning,” he whispered, leaning down for a quick kiss. He hummed and smiled after they broke apart. “It seems we fell asleep.”

May nodded and closed her eyes again, humming in agreement as she rested her head back on Tony’s chest.

Their little cocoon of post-sleep haze was quickly shattered as they heard something fall to the floor with a loud _thud_. They both opened their eyes and flew apart as they saw Peter and two other teenagers standing in front of them. Peter’s backpack was sprawled out in the floor, the source of the loud thud earlier.

Once Tony and May registered who was in front of them, they tried to detangle themselves as fast as they could, which led to Tony rolling out of the blanket they had been wrapped up in and landing on the floor. He gave a groan as he hit the floor, which seemed to knock the teenagers out of their shock.

“What the hell?” Peter yelled. He was still standing there, mouth open and eyes wide in shock. He couldn’t believe what he just saw. He just saw his aunt and mentor wake up and _kiss each other!_ After apparently falling asleep together! _What was going on??_

Ned just stood there in shock, but more because he was in the same room as _Iron Man_ which was something he could only dream of happening.

MJ smirked and leaned over to Peter and whispered, “See, she just needed to get laid.”

Peter whipped his head to face her and glared. “Not helping _at all,_ MJ.”

MJ shrugged and walked over to the kitchen and started setting out her book and notebooks for their chemistry class. She acted as if this was a scene she regularly experienced.

Peter was still watching Tony and May, who just sat on the couch and floor, respectively, as they avoided eye contact with all the teens.

“What the hell is happening?” Peter asked again.

“Language, kiddo,” Tony muttered, still trying to avoid eye contact. He slowly moved back onto the couch, but this time sat with a decent amount of space between him and May.

Peter shook his head. “No, I think I’m allowed to use some language here, Mr. Stark. Because it’s not everyday you come home to find your aunt and boss asleep together on the couch and then _kissing_ when they wake up! So I think I’m allowed to ask, once again, what the _hell_ is going on?”

May sigh and made her way over to him. “Peter, honey, maybe this is a conversation to have in private.” She made a gesture to Ned, who had turned into a statue, and MJ, who was ignoring everyone and starting their homework.

At May’s comment, though, MJ looked up and nodded. “She’s right, loser. Ned and I can come over some other time and we can work on this. We have two weeks to finish it. We can get started during lunch tomorrow.”

With that, she gave May a small smile (a rarity only May could bring out of the girl), gave Tony a half-hearted, two fingered salute, grabbed Ned’s arm and began dragging him out of the apartment. “See you at school, Parker,” she called over her shoulder.

The remaining three people were quiet until they heard the door shut. May reached out an arm to Peter, who shrugged it off and took a step back, crossing his arms.

“Will someone care to explain now?”

May sighed and looked back at Tony. The billionaire just shrugged. “Whatever you want to say, honey. I’ll let you do the talking.”

Peter slightly flinched at the pet name, but May just rolled her eyes.

“Thanks, dear,” she muttered before turning back to Peter. “Pete,” she began, reaching towards her nephew again.

“Pete, we were going to tell you, I promise. We just wanted to make sure this was actually something real first, before bringing you into it.”

Peter scoffed. “Yeah, well it looks pretty real to me,” he gestured to the blankets and the snacks on the table.

Tony stood up and walked to May’s side. “Hey now, watch your tone when talking to your aunt, kid. You still need to show respect, even if you’re upset.”

Peter turned towards the older man. “Of course I’m upset! You guys kept this a secret from me! What happened to all that talk about me not keeping secrets from you guys, huh? I guess that just applies to me and not anyone else?”

“Peter,” May started, but Tony cut her off with a hand on her shoulder and a shake of his head. He had this.

“Kid, we wanted to wait until we had at least one, if not a few dates under our belt before telling you. Sometimes people click right away then go on a date to discover they don’t work as well as they thought. We wanted to save you from that, so we wanted to wait.”

Tony walked towards Peter and put his hands on both of his shoulders. “Was it wrong of us to keep it a secret from you? Yes. Were we doing it to try and hurt you? No, the complete opposite. So take a deep breath and try not to yell at your aunt anymore, okay?”

Peter closed his eyes and took a deep breath, as instructed. He still hadn’t completely processed what he just saw, but he knew Mr. Stark was right when he said May didn’t deserve to be yelled at. He was just so taken off guard. This was the furthest thing from what he ever imagined to happen.

He opened his eyes again and looked over at May, who was worrying her bottom lip between her teeth and watching him apprehensively. He knew that however he reacted in the next several moments was going to be important to how they moved on from here.

Peter gave her small smile and saw some of the tension fall from her shoulders. Mr. Stark nodded and seemed to take it as a sign to start this conversation again.

“Alright, kid. Let’s all take a seat and talk this out.”

They moved to the seats again, May and Tony taking the couch, their legs touching, and Peter sat in the chair across from them. The two adults looked at each other before turning back to Peter.

“So,” Tony started, sounding uncharacteristically awkward and nervous. “Where do you want to start, Pete?”

 

Peter shrugged, trying not to focus on how close together the other two were sitting. “Um… well… when did all this,” he motioned between the two of them, “actually start?”

Again, Tony and May glanced at each other before answering.

“Well, I guess this officially started at Thanksgiving,” May began.

Tony nodded. “That was when we finally sat down and talked to each other about what we were thinking and feeling for the other person,” he finished for her.

Peter knew that made sense. That was when he started noticing them both acting a little different. Everything was a lot clearer to him now.

“Though, we had been meeting regularly as friends for a couple months now,” Tony continued as Peter sat in his thoughts.

The teen nodded, still not knowing what to say. “So, umm…” he began, blushing slightly. “Uh, how did the date last night go, then?”

May smiled and glanced at Tony, who was watching her, amusement and hope in his eyes. She interlocked their fingers and turned back to Peter. “It went pretty well. I think there will be others in the future.”

She felt Tony give her hand a squeeze and she didn’t need to look at him to know he was trying to control the grin growing on his face from her words. She peaked a glanced over and saw him watching her, his face so open and unguarded with the largest smile on his face.

“Yeah?” Tony whispered, holding her gaze, waiting to see if she was telling the truth or not.

May leaned over and gave him a small kiss on his cheek. “Of course,” she murmured. “Last night was amazing, Tony.”

The two adults were so caught up in their little moment that they didn’t see Peter squirming uncomfortably at their words and actions. Finally, he couldn’t take it and gave a little cough, bringing the couple back to the present.

Tony just smirked when he saw Peter’s face growing red with embarrassment. May must’ve noticed as well, because she gently smacked Tony’s chest and reached out to grab Peter’s hand.

“Peter,” she began. “What do you think about this? Because this affects you too, and we want you to be happy and comfortable as well.”

Peter didn’t know what he thought about all of it. The idea of May and Mr. Stark together was something he never ever thought about. The idea of his aunt with anyone aside from his Uncle Ben made him feel weird. He never entertained the thought of May with someone new because he felt like that was them moving passed Ben and replacing his place in their lives.

On the other hand though, just from what he saw this morning, he could tell May and Mr. Stark made each other happy. May has been smiling in a way she hasn’t since Ben died, and Peter is so happy to see her like that again.

Instead of voicing any of this, Peter just shrugged. “If you’re happy, May, then I’m happy.”

At this, May pulled Peter up and into a hug. He gladly reciprocated the hug, then was quickly pulled down onto the couch, sitting between his aunt and his mentor. May grabbed his hand and used her free one to run her fingers through his curls.

“Oh honey, that’s not what I meant. I want you to be happy and okay with this too, but it’s alright if you don’t like it. You’re my first priority, Peter. So, are you actually okay with Tony and I being together?”

Peter looked down at his lap. He really didn’t know what to feel about it. He had never thought about May being with anyone but Ben. Was this how kids felt when their divorced parents started dating again?

Tony nudged his shoulder when the teen stayed silent. “Can I talk to you for sec, Pete?” He looked over at May. “I think I need to tell him something before he makes his decision.”

May gave him a curious look, but nodded anyways. “Sure. I need to put these snacks away and put the dishes in the sink anyways.” With that, she moved off the couch, grabbing everything off the table in front of them and made her way to the kitchen.

Once May was out of the room, Tony turned to Peter. “Peter, I think I know why you feel so conflicted.”

Peter gave him a skeptical look. “Why do you think I feel conflicted?”

Tony just smiled. “Kid, I’m dating the woman who is essentially your mother. You’re going to feel conflicted and not know how to answer that age-old question of what you think about it.”

He paused and placed a hand on the teen’s shoulder. “But I need you to know, I don’t ever plan on replacing your uncle. Ben was an amazing man, from what I’ve heard, and I don’t think I could ever come close to replacing him. I’m not here to take his place, but I do want to be a part of your life, and your aunt’s. Though, I want to make my own place in your lives, not take someone else’s.”

Peter was quiet for a long moment. Mr. Stark seemed to hit the nail on the head, but he didn’t want to admit that. He looked back up at the superhero. “I still don’t know how I feel about all this, Mr. Stark,” he admitted quietly.

Tony gave him a small smile and gave the boy’s shoulder a squeeze. “And you don’t need to try and figure it all out right now. Think about everything we’ve said and take your time putting your thoughts in order, all right, kid?”

Peter smiled and nodded. “Thank, Mr. Stark.”

“Maybe in the meantime, we can start working on you calling me Tony instead of Mr. Stark.”

Peter chuckled and shrugged. “We’ll see. Colonel Rhodes said I should call you Mr. Stark for as long as I could.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Rhodes is just being a pain in my ass by telling you that.”

“Hey! Now don’t be saying such foul language in front of my kid, Stark.”

The two boys looked over to see May joining them with a smirk on her face as she teased Tony.

Tony chuckled. “Please, as if you’re innocent from that. I’ve heard some of the language you can say. It’s actually quite impressive.”

May rolled her eyes and sat down next to Tony, playfully smacking his chest. “But I don’t say any of it in front of my teenager. I need to try to be a good example.”

Peter shrugged. “It’s not like I don’t hear any of that at school or on patrols. Criminals can be quite creative with their curses.”

May just gave her nephew a look. “You’re not helping, Peter.”

The teen just smirked and shrugged.

Tony grinned as he watched the two Parkers. “How about we all go out from brunch. My treat, as neither May or I have eaten yet and I’m sure your spider metabolism is ready for another meal.”

They all agree and Tony took them out to a quiet and unknown cafe that had _amazing_ food. The trio spent the rest of the day together, and Tony knew he would never complain if this was how all of his weekends from here on out ended up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't really know how to end this chapter, so if it seems pretty weak, that's why. 
> 
> How was Peter's chapter? A lot of you guys had been asking about Peter and what he's basically going to bring to the table. So here we are!
> 
> Tell me what you that in the comments blow! Until next time!
> 
> Have a great day!


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First, I'm sorry this is so short. This was supposed to be the first part of the chapter, but life has been so busy I haven't had a chance to finish the rest of the chapter yet. I promise this is still going to be updated, just not as often as before.
> 
> Let me tell you, being an adult is tiring. I just started 2 new jobs, I'm preparing to move next weekend, I'm planning for my sister to visit this summer, and I'm writing the rough draft of a huge project for my best friend's birthday. 
> 
> Anyways, enjoy this really short and relatively weak (in my opinion) chapter!

School that next day was awkward for Peter once lunchtime hit. Apparently MJ convinced Ned not to ambush Peter with questions the second the teen stepped into the building, but the boy was bursting by the time the trio sat at their usual table for lunch. Peter had no sooner set his lunch tray on the table before Ned’s floodgate opened.

“Oh my goodness, Peter! Your aunt is dating freaking _Tony Stark!_ ”

Peter shushed him and looked around to see if anyone heard the excited squeal. He glanced over at MJ who just shrugged in a _“What can you do?”_ sort of way. He gave her a small smile before turning back to Ned.

“Yes, Ned. We all found that out yesterday,” he grumbled, still not sure how he should react to that little fact about his aunt.

Ned just plowed on, oblivious to his friend’s internal monologue. “But _Peter!_ It’s _Iron Man!_ ”

“Ned, you do realize Peter has been working for Stark for months now, right? Stark knowing him and his aunt isn’t a new thing,” MJ cut in.

Ned shrugged. “Yeah, but that was always like professional stuff, right? Now it’s personal. Like dates and stuff.”

“May and I had movie marathons and would hang out with Mr. Stark before they were together. Sometimes we’d go spend the weekend at the compound with him and Colonel Rhodes.”

Ned shrugged again. “Still, I think this is _so cool_ for you Peter. How is this your life?”

Peter looked down at his food and shrugged. He didn’t know either. It was already hard to wrap his mind around the idea of just knowing someone like Tony Stark, but now that the billionaire is dating his aunt? His head hurt sometimes just trying to think about it all.

MJ watched Peter for a second before nudging his leg with her foot to get his attention. “Hey,” she asked once his brown eyes met hers. “Are you okay with your aunt and Stark dating? Because you need to tell May if you’re not.”

Peter shrugged again. “I honestly don’t know how to feel about it, MJ. I want May to be happy, but I never wanted to think about what it would mean if my aunt started dating again after Ben. I know it’s been 4 years, but it’s still really weird to see her with someone that’s not Ben.”

MJ reached over and grabbed his hand. “That’s normal. She’s basically you mom, Peter. Divorced kids all go through this with their parents. You always thought it would just be Ben and May together and now that’s not the reality you’re facing. My friends who have dealt with that say that most of the time, after seeing their parents with other people and how happy they seem, it gets easier. But no one is okay with it right away.”

Peter smiled at her. This was why he loved MJ. She stayed level-headed and always seemed to know what to say. “Thanks, MJ, that makes sense,” he admitted.

“After we talked about it, Mr. Stark took us all out for lunch, then we walked around for a while before going back to our apartment to watch TV. It felt really awkward at first when they held hands or kissed and stuff like that, but they both did look really happy.”

MJ smiled. “See, it’ll just take some time to come to terms with.”

Peter nodded. “I hope. I guess if I had to choose someone for May to date, I’d prefer it be someone I know and trust, like Mr. Stark.”

Ned nodded. “Plus, it’s _Tony Stark_ ,” he said again, still stuck in his fan-boying stage.

Peter grinned and rolled his eyes at his best friend. “Yeah, and he’s also my boss. He’s just a guy, Ned.”

MJ snorted. “That’s not how you acted after the first time you visited his compound.”

Peter ducked his head to hide his blush. She wasn’t wrong. He flooded their group chat with his freaking out and fanboying over just meeting Colonel Rhodes and getting a tour from Mr. Stark.

“You’re not wrong,” he admitted, “But that was before I watched him play fetch with his bots or attempt to make an omelet or literally run away from Ms. Potts to avoid doing paperwork for SI.”

MJ smirked, while Ned just gaped at his friend. “Dude, I can't believe you’ve seen stuff like that!”

Peter laughed. “Ned, he’s just a guy. When he’s not acting like a famous billionaire for the press, he’s just a major nerd.”

Before Ned could respond, the bell rang, signalling the lunch period to be over. The trio threw their trash away and headed towards their afternoon classes, counting down the minutes until the school day was over.

 

It wasn’t until decathlon practice that the topic of May’s dating life came up again. They were halfway through practice when Peter felt his phone buzz. He pulled it out to see who had texted him, and saw that it was Mr. Stark.

_Hey kid, Happy’s going to pick you up after practice and bring you to your apartment. May and I are going out for dinner._

Before he could respond, Mr. Stark sent a follow-up text.

_Your curfew still applies. Don’t stay out too late._

He knew that Mr. Stark was talking about Spider-man, since today was a patrolling day. He quickly sent back an answer, telling the man he wouldn’t dream of breaking curfew, knowing Mr. Stark would be able to hear the sarcasm through the phone.

Peter moved to put his phone back, but the next thing he knew, his phone was in the hands of Flash, who was quickly backing out of Peter’s reach.

“Flash! Give me back my phone!”

Flash grinned and held the phone., reading the messages. “Who’re you texting, Parker? Wow, you really must be desperate for attention if you’re making fake contacts! There’s no way you were just texting _Tony Stark_. And _wow_ , there’s no way Iron Man would be taking your aunt out to dinner, Parker.”

Peter bit his tongue and just held his hand out. “Give me back my phone, Flash.”

Flash smirked. “Not going to defend yourself and your lies, Parker? Maybe we should call this contact just to prove you’re lying.”

Before Peter could respond, MJ sauntered over and plucked the phone right out of Flash’s hand.

“Shut up, Eugene. Didn’t your parents teach you not to mess with other people’s property?”

The team captain tossed Peter his phone, to which he quickly stuffed into his backpack. He gave her a nod of thanks, before sitting back down, focusing on ignoring the glare Flash was giving him.

“Whatever, Parker. We all know the truth,” the bully hissed in Peter’s ear. “There’s no way you or your aunt would know someone like Stark. It’s just your cry for attention, trying to be as popular and as cool as someone like me.”

Peter grit his teeth and clenched his pencil, refusing to acknowledge the bully. Everyone who mattered knew the truth, so it didn’t matter what Flash said or thought.

Although that didn’t stop Abe from leaning over to Peter. “Wow, I didn’t know your aunt was dating again, Peter.”

Peter gave a short nod, “It’s a recent development,” he muttered, not wanting to have this conversation with his teammates.

Abe seemed oblivious to that, though. “She’s not really dating Tony Stark, is she?”

“Well, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you, would ya?”

Abe fell silent, and for a moment, Peter felt guilty for how he snapped at his classmate. Though, honestly Peter was tired of everyone not believing him when it came to Mr. Stark. He also really didn’t want to discuss his family life with Abe, or anyone else besides MJ and Ned, for that matter.

Peter made it through the rest of practice without incident. He went home with Happy to find May had already left, so he ate an early supper and headed out on patrol, trying not to think about his aunt out on a date with Mr. Stark.

 

Peter just stepped out of the shower after his patrol when he heard the front door open. He quickly looked at his phone and saw it was almost 1am already. He was kind of surprised May and Mr. Stark stayed out so late when May had to work the next day. Peter stayed as quiet as he could, not because he wanted to eavesdrop (not at all), just so he didn’t ruin whatever goodbye was happening at the front door.

_“Thanks for coming to dinner with me.”_

That must be Mr. Stark. Peter stood still in the middle of his bathroom, thankful for his super hearing. Again, he wasn’t eavesdropping if he didn’t have to strain to hear them, right?

_“Thanks for inviting me. I enjoyed the night together.”_

That was definitely May. He listened a little harder. Fine, now he was eavesdropping.

_“Yeah? Enough for me to do this?”_

Peter’s face scrunched up in disgust as he heard what he assumed what the two adults kissing. He did not need to hear any of that.

_“Hmm… Do you want to come in? We could binge-watch more TV. I feel like that’s the only time I actually watch anything anymore.”_

There was a low chuckle and what sounded like another kiss. Peter scrunched up his face again, shaking his head. Did they really need to do that with him there? He stopped, his eyes widening. Oh, man. What if Mr. Stark agreed to come inside and they started doing more than just kissing? Peter didn’t know if he could handle hearing that. He’d have to leave and crash at Ned’s or something. Wait, Mr. Stark was talking again…

_“I’d love nothing more than to do another TV night with you, but there’s a teenager home tonight and we both have early mornings tomorrow. This is where I have to say goodbye for the night.”_

Peter heard May give a good-natured groan. He was glad Mr. Stark was leaving though. That would save him a night from traumatic embarrassment.

_“Why must you be so responsible and such a gentleman for once, Tony? What happened to when I mentioned you being a bad boy type of guy?”_

Peter just outright shuddered when he heard his aunt say that. He heard Mr. Stark laugh.

_“Trust me, you’re nephew already feels embarrassed by this simple and innocent conversation._ Isn’t that right, Pete?”

Peter jumped as Mr. Stark yelled out that last part towards the bathroom. Busted. He slowly made his way into the hallway to see the two adults watching him in amusement. He gave a small wave. “Hey, May. Hey, Mr. Stark.”

Mr. Stark smirked while May just gave him an exasperated look. Mr. Stark turned back to May and gave her one last parting kiss.

“I’ll talk to you later,” the billionaire murmured.

May hummed in response, and before Peter knew it, there was only him and May left in their tiny apartment. His aunt gave him a fond smile and ruffled his hair. “It’s time for both of us to head to bed, sweetheart. I’ll see you in the morning.”

They said good night to each other before heading off to their separate rooms, both tired after equally long days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think? Let me know in the comments! I'll take all constructive criticism you guys want to give me!
> 
> Have a great day!


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not dead everyone! I've been super busy, but in the best way possible. 
> 
> I do apologize for taking this long to post again. Honestly, after seeing Endgame, and between everything happening in my real life, my writing mojo seemed to have taken a but of a vacation without telling me, haha. 
> 
> But here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

Not much changed for Peter after that weekend. Not in his overall day-today- life that is. Tony (he’s been working on calling the man, Tony, more) was actively around a little more, but the man still kept to their lab schedule.

Peter was trying to avoid any conversations that dealt with the topic of May and Tony’s relationship. It was one thing for him to work on being okay with the whole thing, which has gotten easier as he’s seen how _happy_ the two adults are together. That didn’t mean he was ready to _talk_ about their relationship though.

That was why he was both happily surprised and nervous when he walked out of school on his last day before Christmas break to find Tony waiting to pick him up instead of Happy. He stopped short when he saw the man, causing Ned to run into him.

“Peter?” His friend asked, moving to stand beside him. “Why’d you stop like that, man?”

Peter just motioned to the superhero who was sitting in the driver’s seat of a semi-nondescript black audi A6. When Ned looked where Peter was pointing, he gasped and grabbed his friend’s arm, shaking it excitedly.

“Holy crap, Peter! That’s _Tony Stark_!”

Peter just nodded, making his way over to the car. Ned followed as he still hadn’t released Peter from his grip. Peter knocked on the passenger window, and Tony looked up from his phone with a grin.

“Hey, kid! Get in, we have a ton to do at the lab today. May’s working a late shift so we have the whole night to ourselves,” Tony grinned, once the window was rolled down.

Peter nodded and turned to Ned, who seemed to have frozen in shock and excitement. “Ned, you need to let go of my arm.”

“But,” his friend whispered not so quietly. “Peter, th-that’s Tony Stark”

Peter rolled his eyes when he heard Tony trying to stifle a laugh. “Yeah Ned, but that’s also my boss, who I’m supposed to go with to start working on stuff.”

Ned mutely let go and took a step back so Peter could enter the car. Peter was glad that most everyone had left already, anxious to get started on their week and a half of break started. Peter was sure there would be a lot more attention on them right now if that wasn’t the case.

As Peter opened the passenger door, Tony leaned over to catch Ned’s eye. “Nice to meet you, Ned. Pete’s told me a lot about you. I must say, your hacking skills are simply amazing for a kid your age,” Tony added, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Ned gaped at the fact that Tony had addressed him directly, and instantly blushed and looked embarrassed at the man’s last comment.

Knowing Ned was on the brink of really beginning to freak out over talking to his idol, Peter closed the door and stuck his fist out the window for Ned to bump. “Yes Tony, Ned is an amazing hacker and coder. Ned, I’ll text you later about a movie and lego night!”

Ned bumped Peter’s fist and waved goodbye as the black car took off. He shook his head and started heading towards the subway. Sometimes he couldn’t believe the stuff he saw because of Peter.

 

Back in the audi, Peter kept glancing over at Tony while the man drove them to the tower.

“Wanna take a picture? I promise it’ll last longer.”

Tony’s question made Peter jump. He looked down in embarrassment. He hadn’t realized Tony caught him staring. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

Tony shrugged. “Don’t be sorry, kid. I was just joking. What’s up?”

“Well, I was wondering why you picked me up today instead of Happy. Not that I don’t mind you picking up, I think that was actually really nice of you and kind of cool.I mean, how many people get to have the Tony Stark pick them up from high school, right? So -”

“Pete!” Tony laughed, interrupting the teen’s nervous rambling. “Calm down, kid. I picked you up because I was in the area for a business meeting and I sent Happy off to Malibu with Pepper for a couple days. They’re handling some problems at the west coast division.”

Peter nodded. “Oh.”

The car is silent for several minutes before Peter decided to ask another question.

“Hey, Tony?”

“Hm?”

“Umm…. so I thought you sold the tower. Wasn’t that the whole thing with Moving Day and th-the Vulture?”

Tony nodded. “That’s true. I sold it as _Avengers Tower_ and had Stark Industries buy the building. I needed to completely separate the two. No other company would have wanted to buy the building because of the arc reactor powering it, anyways.”

“Oh... that makes sense. So now the tower is just for SI?”

“Right on the money, kid. I still have the penthouse and the other residential floors, but no one’s renting any out. Every floor from 82 and below is solely SI.”

Peter nodded. “Cool. Is that why you’ve been splitting your time each week between staying at the compound and the tower? To focus on each separately?”

Tony squirmed for a moment and gave a cough to try and hide his embarrassment. As much as it’s gotten easier for him to show his emotions around May, it still felt awkward and was difficult for him to express his feelings.

“Well, actually it so I was more accessible to you and May. In case you guys needed me around for anything,” he admitted.

Peter looked over in surprise. “Like what kind of things?”

Tony continued looking slightly embarrassed. This kid was not making it easy on him. At least Peter feels comfortable enough around him to ask these types of questions.

“Well, you know,” Tony answered. “Obviously the tower is closer than the compound, so I’m more available for like if May is caught at work or something, I’m closer to your apartment in case you need me or anything until she gets home. Or if you have any problems with Spider-man. Things like that.”

Peter was silent for a moment. He didn’t realize Tony wanted to be in the city to to just be around for him. That was what the man had essentially said.

“I know things are different now that your aunt and I are dating,” Tony continued, and Peter squirmed. This was definitely the type of conversation the teenager had been trying to avoid. Tony glanced over at him when he saw movement in the passenger seat.

“Things are different, but I hope you know I don’t want to just be ‘May’s boyfriend’ to you, kid. I was your mentor first and foremost and I don’t plan on throwing that fact away any time soon. I’ll still be here for you, Pete, no matter what.”

 

That short conversation was still on Peter’s mind as the duo sat in Tony’s lab and worked on their own superhero projects. They had been down there for a couple hours already.

Once they had arrived at the tower, snacks were grabbed and they made camp down in the lab. Peter finished the last bit of homework he had from school before Tony let him start any of his projects. It was kind of annoying, but Peter also appreciated it. Today had been their last day of school until after Christmas break, and Peter didn’t want to be focusing on any of his working during his week and a half off.

Now though, all homework was completed and Peter was watching Tony repair one of the repulsor blasts for the Iron Man suit. Tony was explaining each step in the repair so Peter could follow along and understand what was going on.

“So,” Tony began, “do you have any big plans for your Christmas break?”

Peter shrugged. “Not really. Ned and I wanted to get together for a movie night at some point, but nothing else is planned. I figured I’d do a little extra patrolling.”

“You and May aren’t planning on spending any time with her side of the family?”

“No, May doesn’t really have any family left either,” Peter answered. “I think she has a couple cousins but they never talk or anything.”

Tony just hummed, thinking about that new bit of information. “What about your other friend? The girl…. Um, MJ? You don’t have any plans with her?”

Tony saw Peter pause for a split second and noticed the beginning of a blush on the boy’s face. Oh, Tony was going to have fun with this.

“Unless she’s joining Ned and I for movies, I don’t have any plans with MJ.”

“Mhmm. So none of those cliche christmas dates teenagers take each other on?”

At that question, Peter’s head popped up so fast Tony was worried the boy had gotten whiplash. Tony smirked, at Peter’s wide eyes and tried not to laugh as he stuttered out a response.

“Wh-what? No way, Tony! Why would I take MJ on a date? We’re just friends.”

Tony laughed and and patted Peter’s shoulder. “Whatever you say, Underoos. Come on, let’s head up and grab some dinner. We can do our own movie marathon while we’re at it.”

 

That was were the duo could be found later that evening after their dinner of greasy burgers and fries, that they definitely were not going to tell May about. The two of them were camped out on the couch in Tony’s living room in the penthouse and they were making their way through a marathon of _Indiana Jones_.

“How have you not seen _Indiana Jones_?” Tony had asked earlier, looking incredulous. “You’ve seen every other amazing movie of my time that you judge as ‘old’.”

Peter shrugged. “May thought they were too violent when I was a kid and the interest to see them never came up as I got older.”

Tony snorted and shook his head. “Too violent? This is coming from the kid who has seen all the _Alien_ movies?”

Peter gave him a small smile. “That was what Ned and I would watch when May and Ben or his parents thought we were watching Star Wars.”

Tony let out a loud laugh at that, before having Friday que up _Raiders of the Lost Ark_.

They had just started _The Last Crusade_ when Peter spoke up. The teen had somehow maneuvered himself against his Tony’s side, his head resting on the older man’s chest. Tony had unconsciously started running his fingers through Peter’s curls, ending with both of them feeling groggy and relaxed.

“Ben and I used to do this.”

Tony looked down at the teen. Peter hadn’t taken his eyes off the tv screen, so Tony decided to not react to where this conversation was going. He hoped if he acted nonchalant about it, Peter wouldn’t become too embarrassed or nervous to keep talking.

“Yeah?”

Tony felt Peter nod against his chest before the teen looked up at him.

“We used to camp out and do movie marathons on the couch all the time if May was working late that night.”

Tony hummed but let a comfortable silence fall upon them. It wasn’t often that Peter brought up Ben on his own accord and Tony didn’t want to force the teen into talking more about the man than he wanted to.

“Did May tell you about what happened that night?” Peter asked, his voice barely louder than a whisper.

Tony shook his head and responded just as quietly. “Not really. We briefly talked about everything that happened as a whole, but I never asked for exact details.”

Peter was quiet for a moment longer and Tony was wondering if that was all Peter was going to say on the topic of his late uncle.

“I had just turned eleven before it had happened. One night, Ben needed to run to a convenience store nearby to grab a couple things. It was pretty late but I wanted to go with him. I argued that I was old enough now, being the ripe age of eleven.” Peter paused and gave a self-deprecating laugh as he thought back to his argument of being old enough and mature enough to handle Queens at night.

“Finally, Ben and May relented and me and him were off. We made it to the store and were on our way back home when we heard a lady screaming in the alley we had just passed. Ben made me stand under the nearest street lamp and I watched him run into the alley. I remember a lot of yelling, then a loud bang. I ran over to find a guy in all black run past me and a woman crying as she was on the phone with the police. Then I looked down, and there on the ground was Ben. I ran over to him, but there wasn’t anything I could do.”

Peter paused, taking a slow breath to keep his tears at bay. Tony just wrapped his arms around Peter and pulled him tight against his chest. He buried his nose in the teens curly hair and began whispering nonsensical words of comfort.

“It’s okay, Peter. It wasn’t your fault, kid. It’s okay. I’ve got you. You’re all right.”

Peter turned and clung to Tony, crying into the man’s chest. He had worked through everything with Ben’s murder years ago in therapy, but the comfort Tony provided allowed his emotions to take a stronger hold as he retold the terrible real-life nightmare again.

Finally, Peter’s tears subsided and he slowly pulled out of Tony’s embrace. Tony didn’t let him get to far away before the older man reached up and wiped the last of the tears from Peter’s face with his thumbs.

“Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me about that night. I can promise you though that no matter what you might tell yourself, nothing that happened was your fault, alright?”

Peter nodded and took a deep breath, calming down almost completely. The two of them settled back into their previous positions and were about to restart the movie when Peter spoke up again.

“That night is why I became Spider-Man after I got bit by that spider. I just kept thinking, that if someone like me had come and saved the day, then Ben would still be here. I don’t want other families to go through what May and I did.”

Tony hummed and ran his fingers through Peter’s hair. “That’s extremely noble of you kid. It shows just how good your heart is. May and I are both so proud of what you do. And I know I never met him, but I am willing to bet on it that Ben is proud of you too.”

Peter smiled and curled closer into Tony’s chest. Part of the teenager couldn’t believe that he was snuggling on a couch with Tony Stark, because that is such a crazy thought for anyone. The majority of Peter, though, was thankful that the man was in his life as his mentor and maybe even more.

 

When May showed up at the tower after her shift at work later that night, she walked into the living room and smiled at what she saw:

Tony and Peter ended up never moving from the couch and eventually fell asleep against each other. Tony had kicked his feet up and had his head thrown back against the back of the couch while he held Peter close to his side. Peter had his feet curled up under him and he head was nestled in the crook of Tony’s neck, one of his hands curled into the fabric of Tony’s shirt. Both were deep asleep and oblivious to May’s presence.

She continued smiling as she walked over and found a blanket to put over them. She gave a gentle kiss to Peter’s forehead and ran a hand through Tony’s hair.

The billionaire shifted at the feeling and blearly opened his eyes to see May standing over him. He gave his girlfriend a sleep smile and murmured a soft greeting. He blinked a couple times before using his free hand to pull May onto the couch on his side that Peter wasn’t currently occupying.

“When did you get here?” Tony whispered once she was settled against his side.

May intertwined their fingers together before leaning over to give him a quick kiss. “I got here a couple minutes ago. I grabbed an overnight bag and Happy just dropped me off.”

Tony hummed sleepily in response. They were silent for several minutes, long enough that both adults began to doze. Tony jerked back to awareness, bringing May along with him.

“I guess we should head to bed,” he said, not making a move to get up.

May just yawned and snuggled closer into his side, resting her head against Tony’s shoulder. “Or we could just stay here. None of us have to be anywhere tomorrow morning. We can sleep in and all be sore from sleeping on the couch together.”

Tony chuckled. “It seems to me that we spend a lot of time sleeping on couches together.”

May laughed in agreement. “What’s one more night of poor sleeping decisions then?”

Tony smiled and gave her a soft kiss against her temple before leaning back into the couch with a sigh. “Fine,” he whispered, eyes already falling shut. “You win. Now go to sleep.”

He heard her chuckle quietly and with that, Tony fell back into a rare night of peaceful sleep with Peter and May at his sides, as if they had always meant to be there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you thought in the comments below! Seriously, you have no idea how much y'alls comments helped pull me out of my writing funk. Every time I sat down to write and couldn't find any motivation, I'd just go back and re-read comments on past chapters. 
> 
> Thanks for going on this journey with me and I really hope you have a nice day!


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO sorry, for how long this has taken for me to finish and get out to you guys. Every year I forget how busy my summers get and then I get surprised at the sudden influx of things in my schedule. 
> 
> Side note, my dad just got married again... so that's something. it was weird going to a wedding and not really knowing all these people that are suddenly your family now, but I guess that's the effects of being an adult and living 8 hours from the rest of my family. 
> 
> I do want to thank everyone who has commented on this story. Your encouragement has been such a motivator for me to keep writing. I absolutely LOVE discussing the story with you all and answering any questions you have. You guys are the best!
> 
> Anyways, here's the next chapter! It's not my favorite, but hopefully y'all still like it!

The next morning found the trio sleeping late then working together to make a large brunch. As they ate, they discussed their plans for the day. Tony had a meeting with some potential investors later in the afternoon. Since May had worked the late shift last night, she was given the day off so her and Peter talked about spending the day together while Tony was working. They spent their time together in the penthouse up until Tony had to leave for his meeting.

“You know I can always reschedule this meeting then we can spend all day together,” Tony half suggested, half whined as May walked him to the elevator while Peter sat on the couch laughing at the older man’s antics.

May rolled her eyes but laughed. “Please, Pepper would kill you. She texted me asking if I would make sure you arrive on time. So go.”

Tony groaned. “I regret the fact that you two seem to be friends now. Everyone is conspiring against me. My CEO, my best friend, my girlfriend; at least Pete’s on my side. Right kid?” He called the last part out, making sure Peter heard.

The two adults heard more laughter and then a curly brown head popped out from around the corner.

“Not this time, Tony! Colonel Rhodey asked me to help too!”

Tony flung his head back and groaned, but the mirth and amusement in his eyes gave him away. He eventually walked into the waiting elevator. Before the doors could close though, he pulled May in for a long kiss.

After they parted, he smirked and rested his forehead against hers. “Are you sure I still need to go to this meeting?” Tony whispered.

May grinned but pushed him back into the elevator. “Yep,” she said, popping the ‘P’. She laughed at the incredulous look Tony gave her as the doors began to close.

“Oh, you’ll pay for that,” he warned.

May winked. “I’ll look forward to it.”

“Gross,” Peter commented after the elevator doors shut. He made his way over to his aunt, who wrapped an arm around him and pulled him to her side.

May smiled and gave a quick kiss on top of his head. “Uh-huh. Come on then, kiddo. We have our own plans for the day.”

Peter grinned and followed May.

 

* * *

 

The next few days followed much like that first one. The trio spent much of their free time together, and Peter couldn’t help but imagine that must be what having a real family feels like.

When Tony and May were both working, Peter hung out with Ned and MJ, working on school work, building LEGOs, or doing movie marathons, and sometimes all three at once.

Tony and May allowed Peter extra time each day for him to do more patrolling, and Peter took advantage of every second of it. Per Tony’s request, he stuck to the smaller stuff: low level muggings and helping old ladies cross the street, but he still felt like he was making a difference in Queens.

 

* * *

 

It was three days before Christmas and May was waiting outside the hospital for Tony to show up so they could go out for lunch. The billionaire was still bringing May lunch once or twice a week, and today they decided to go and eat instead of bringing it to the hospital.

She smiled when she saw Tony pull up in his car. At least he picked one of his least flashy ones today. Neither of them were blind to the fact that any time they go out in public, someone gets at least one picture of them. So far though, no one has been able to figure out who May was or why she spent so much time with Tony. They knew the anonymity would eventually end though, but were determined to enjoy it as long as it lasted.

Tony exited his car with a smile.

"Hey, gorgeous," he called, pulling May in for a hug and kiss. "Ready for lunch?"

May laughed but let him lead her to the car. "As long as it doesn't take too long. It's been a busy day today."

They headed to one of their favorite take-out places and ended up eating in the hospital parking lot.

"So," Tony started. "Christmas is coming up in a couple of days and we haven't really discussed what we're going to be doing."

May nodded. "Well, normally Peter and I sleep in then make a brunch together before doing our own little gift exchange. Christmas was never a large affair for us, and after Ben, even less so."

Tony hummed and looked down at his lunch for a moment. "Well, I know we weren't together when we had Thanksgiving at your place, but I was thinking we could have some time together at the tower or even go to the compound for a couple days. But if you want to keep it small and stick to your traditions with Peter, that's fine too. I mean, eventually I’ll want to give you guys the gifts I bought you both, but whatever your comfortable with is what we can do."

May smiled at her boyfriend's nervous ramblings. She knew he tended to do it only when he was either nervous or serious about something. He thought it was an annoying tick, but she thought it was adorable.

She reached over and gently squeezed his arm. “I’ll talk to Peter about it, but I think he’ll be okay if we all do something together for Christmas. Either you come over after brunch or we all go to the tower for a couple days. I’ll let you know after dinner tonight, alright?”

Tony grinned and nodded. “Yeah, that sounds great. Whatever you guys want to do.”

They finished their food and went their separate ways at the end of May’s lunch break.

 

* * *

 

Christmas Eve found Peter and May following Happy into Stark Tower to wait for Tony to get back from a last minute meeting with Ross and the Accords Committee that no one refused to reschedule until after the holidays.

“Go put your bag in your room, honey, and meet me back out here. We can get a jump start on making dinner so we can eat sooner once Tony gets back,” May instructed Peter once they reached the penthouse level.

Peter dashed off and May made her way into the extravagant kitchen. She was just beginning to look through to see what ingredients she had to work with when her phone buzzed. She smiled when she saw it was from Tony.

_Don’t make anything for dinner. I’m bringing home the best meal you have ever tasted._

May laughed and headed back into the living room the same time Peter did. “Tony’s bringing dinner back with him so we aren’t cooking anymore,” she told the teen.

Peter shrugged. “Cool. Do you wanna watch a movie while we wait? We haven’t watched many Christmas movies yet.”

They took over the couch and had Friday cue up all the classic movies. They stayed camped out in front of the TV until they heard the elevator open several hours later and saw Tony walking out, a large insulated food bag in his hands.

“I’m sorry it took so long, politicians don’t seem to care if it’s the holidays or the fact that some people need to get home to their families,” Tony paused and lifted up the black bag. “Hopefully, my peace offering of the best food you’ll ever have will suffice for you guys.”

May moved to help him and greeted him with a kiss. She loved that Tony just referred to them as his family. They haven’t been together long, but they all just seem to fit in each other’s lives to where it seems almost pointless to not think of them as a family. “You’ve made it back here to us, so that’s all that matters. Come on, let’s go get dinner set up.”

They headed to the kitchen, but Tony made a quick detour to the couch, where Peter was still sitting, just watching them interact. Honestly, Peter was trying to hide the grin on his face from when he heard Tony refer to him and May as his family.

Tony walked over to the couch and ruffled Peter’s hair, grinning at the indignant squawk the teen gave. “It’s good to see you too, Pete. You ready for Christmas tomorrow?”

Peter trotted after Tony into the kitchen and the three of the all began setting out plates and cups, getting ready for dinner.

“Yep!” Peter said, grinning. “Can we watch some more Christmas movies after dinner though?”

“Sure, bud,” Tony replied, helping May carry the last dish to the table. They all sat down and Tony eagerly opened the lids of the dishes.

“Alright, Luca was more than happy to make this for us, on the condition that I finally introduce you guys.”

Peter sat up straighter. “Luca? You really great Italian chef-friend, Luca? This is going to be the best meal ever!”

May and Tony laughed at his enthusiasm, but they both knew it was valid. Every once in a while, Tony would surprise them with food that was made by this mysterious friend, but no one could deny that the dishes were always top-notch and delicious.

They all dug into the pasta, this time it was cheesy rigatoni with roasted potatoes and cabbage, fresh garlic bread, and salad that Luca packed with the main course. They talked about their days and Peter’s patrols, which have been a little shorter because of the cold temperature.

Afterwards, once everything was cleaned up, they did exactly what Peter had asked; each armed with hot chocolate, the group bundled themselves up in blankets and camped out on the couch to enjoy the old classic Christmas movies.

 

Peter had fallen asleep a couple movies into their marathon and Tony offered to carry him to bed. He argued that it would be easier to move presents out to the tree if Peter was in his bedroom.

After Tony came back from Peter’s bedroom, he joined May back on the couch where he unceremoniously pulled May over and tucked into his side. She gave a quick laugh, but didn’t fight him. Instead she just went with the movement, rest her head on his shoulder and laying a palm on his chest, a content sigh escaping her.

In the stillness of the night, May let her mind wander. Christmas had been hard the last few years, with her and Peter spending most of the holiday season fighting off grief instead of basking in the joy that seemed to come around everyone else. This time though, it wasn’t just the two of them, alone in their tiny apartment. Tony wanted to spend the holidays with them and that couldn’t make her any happier.

There have been moments where May would think about Ben and feel guilty for enjoying how much Tony wanted to be apart of their lives and everything that came along with it. In those flashes of guilt she felt like it was too soon after Ben and that she was forgetting about Ben and everything he had done for their little mix-matched family before he died.

Then she would catch the looks Tony sent her when he thought she wasn’t looking. He had the same look in his eyes that Ben would have anytime he looked at her. When she saw those looks, she knew Ben would be happy that she found someone else who seem to care for her - and Peter - just as much as he had.

In lue of those thoughts swirling in her mind, she simply grinned and shifted closer to Tony, closing her eyes as she felt his arm tightening around her, securing her against him. She allowed herself to relax and just rest next to the man who has seemingly unknowingly saved her from another year or misery and grief.

Tony felt May relax against him and he could help but pull her closer. Some days he couldn’t believe he was allowed to do that and others he wondered if this was all a dream and he would soon wake up alone in the compound with only the task of making Rhodey’s leg braces perfect the only thing that got him through the day.

At that moment though, Tony just felt happy and content to hold such a beautiful woman in his arms. After Pepper and him split up, Tony never thought he’d feel this close and intimate with someone again. Not that they’ve moved past kissing and cuddling on the physical aspect of their relationship as they’ve still been taking it slow like May had asked.

On a deeper, emotional level though, Tony’s never been this close to someone. He thinks back to all their long texts and phone calls during the day when one of them is bored, or their late night conversations as they sat on May’s couch with Netflix playing in the background, or even going back to the beginning and their simple Wednesday lunch meetings. They talked about anything and everything about themselves and answered just about any question the other person asked.

The vulnerability they showed each other from the moment they met has allowed them to grow a deep bond with each other that Tony cherished and he didn’t know how much he needed that until he had it.

Tony knew that getting to know and now dating May Parker had in all honesty, probably saved his life. Not literally, he knew there was still too much for him to do for this world, but mostly for his own mental stability and personal life.

He had no idea why he was given a gift like the chance to date May and he didn’t know how long this good fortune would last before life ripped it away, but he was going to enjoy every minute of it while he had it.

With that thought, he leaned down and gently kissed May’s temple before resting his cheek in her head.

“I’m so lucky to have you,” he murmured.

May smiled and looked up at him. She leaned forward and gave him a soft kiss. “And I’m so lucky to have you, Tony. You have no idea how grateful I am that you are in my life now. Just being here with you feels like a gift.”

Tony chuckled. “Well Merry Christmas then, Sweetheart.”

May murmured a quiet _“Merry Christmas”_ back as they moved to kiss again.

 

Peter woke up the next morning in his bed with no memory of falling asleep or moving to his room. He slightly blushed when he thought about how he ended up in his bed, because the only plausible theory is that Tony carried him, and that sounded extremely embarrassing for the teen.

He quickly dressed in some comfy sweats and an old hoodie he may or may not have stolen from Tony and made his way out to the kitchen to find some food. He yawned as he walked through the doorway, and stopped when he saw May and Tony already in the kitchen.

It looked like they had been cooking, but at the moment they were just standing in front of the stove, with Tony’s arms wrapped securely around May. She had her face buried in the crook of Tony’s neck as he swayed slightly, hiding his face in her hair.

Peter watched, feeling like he was intruding, but also worried that something had upset his aunt. After several moments though, he came to the conclusion that nothing seemed to be wrong, as the air surrounding the couple seemed to be just simply _content_.

Before Peter could move from his spot in the doorway, Tony seemed to sense his presence, as the older man looked up at him. Tony greeted him with a smile and moved his head to motion the teen over.

“Merry Christmas, kid. Wanna join in on the love?”

May looked up as well when she heard Tony talk, and held out an arm towards Peter as an invitation. “Come over here, honey. Come give your aunt a hug.”

Peter chuckled but moved over towards them without protest. As soon as he was in arms reach, he was yanked in between Tony and May, thrown into the bear hug from all sides. He felt Tony wrap his arms around both him and May again, and May somehow had him in a hug but still found her spot against Tony’s chest too.

Peter smiled and closed his eyes as he felt Tony’s chin rest on his forehead and heard the man mutter, “Best gift ever.”

 

After a few more minutes of staying in this position, they slowly pulled away from each other. Tony grinned and clapped his hands. “Alright! Brunch is almost ready, so how about Pete, you go make sure the table is all set and May and I will finish and bring the food over.”

Soon after, they were all sitting around the table and enjoying loaded scrambled eggs, sausage links, bacon, pancakes, and fruit. Once they ate and cleaned up, Tony and May relaxed on the couch as Peter started passing out gifts to everyone, embarrassed that he seemed to have more than each of the adults.

“Pete, you’re the kid. You’re supposed to have more presents. Just enjoy it,” Tony told him, chuckling as the teen started to apologize for apparently not giving them enough of their own gifts.

“Besides,” Tony added, “you guys being here is plenty enough of a gift for me. I don’t need anything else.”

At that comment, Peter looked down, trying to hide his grin and blush while May just called him a sap and gave him a short kiss. At a little more prompting Peter started opening his gifts, but only after Tony and May agreed to open theirs at the same time he did.

They all enjoyed the different things they were given. Peter was ecstatic at the several new LEGO sets, and quietly happy about the new phone and laptop Tony had given him. When he originally protested, Tony told him they were prototypes and he needed Peter to give him feedback on the devices, meaning he was helping Tony out by actually using them. That had helped Peter feel less guilty about accepting such expensive gifts.

May received several cookbooks she had mentioned to Peter at one point, which she was more happy that he seemed to remember those off-handed comments more than receiving the actual books. Tony had given her a simple-looking silver necklace that she knew had cost much more than it looked. She knew that he understood her need to not have flashy and gaudy things, and truly appreciated the effort he went through to find something simplistic and beautiful for her.

Tony had gotten a new pair of cuff links from Peter and had to stop himself from laughing out loud as he saw the little spiderwebs engraved on them as well as what he assumed was a gag gift of several science pun shirts that matched the ones he occasionally teased Peter about.

May has gave him her gift the night before they went to bed. He had thoroughly enjoyed looking through May and Peter’s family photo album with her, and was happily shocked to see photos of him near the end of it. _“You’re part of our family now Tony. You have been for months now, this just makes it look a little more real.”_

They spent the rest of the day lounging around with random movies playing in the background and Tony talking with May about the Stark Industries New Year’s Eve Party that next week.

“I was hoping you’d want to come as my date, and maybe we can convince Peter to bring his friend, MJ. I’m certain there is a ‘more than friends’ thing going on between them, even if they don’t want to admit it. Also, I think Pepper is going with Lawyer-David, so it’ll be the perfect time to do a little investigating on that whole thing, and maybe even play a bit of intimidation on Lawyer-David while we’re there.”

May laughed. “First, of course I’ll be your date. I’d be a little offended of you had someone else go with you. Second, we definitely need to get MJ to go with Peter, because I agree with you that there is something going on there, and I am one hundred percent okay with that. Third, leave Pepper alone! The poor woman puts up with enough of your antics, you don’t need to embarrass her because she brought a date to a party.”

Tony gave her an exaggerated pout before pulling her into his lap and nuzzling into her neck. “But then how else can I make sure this guy is worthy of Pepper?”

May chuckled and ran her fingers through his hair, feeling her boyfriend completely relax at the motions. “How about after the holidays we just invite them out to dinner? A double date of sorts?”

Tony huffed but didn’t move from his position. “Can I at least intimidate him a little bit?”

May rolled her eyes, still smiling at his antics. “I guess a little bit wouldn’t hurt.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for how choppy the beginning of this chapter was. I started and stopped writing a lot, if you couldn't tell. I lost a bit of my inspiration while I was trying to write this, but I have found it again! Yay!
> 
> Let me know what you thought in the comments below! Like I said, I love discussing the story and answering any questions asked.
> 
> Have a great day!


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, look at this! A lot quicker update! Woo!
> 
> I've gotten a little more free time to write this past week, so I was able to get this finished pretty quickly. 
> 
> My best friend is coming to visit me for the next couple weeks so I can't promise when the next chapter will be out, but it is coming, I promise!
> 
> Enjoy!

New Years Eve came quickly and at 6pm Tony was outside the Parker’s apartment, waiting to drive everyone to the Stark Industries party. Tony and May convinced Peter to ask MJ to come as his plus one _(“It’s not a date, Tony! We’re just friends!”)_ so they had to pick her up before actually heading over to party.

He knocked on the door and waited for it to open. Yes, he had a key for emergencies, but this way they were alerted to his presence and he wouldn’t be surprising them with his arrival. Only moments after he had knocked, the door opened to reveal Peter, in his suit without his shirt tucked in and his tie hanging loosely around his neck.

“Tony! Is it six already? Um, I think May is almost ready. I just have to finish this.”

The teen started hastily tucking in his shirt as he rambled a greeting, causing Tony to just chuckle and step into the apartment before shutting the door. He waited until Peter had his shirt haphazardly tucked in before stepping closer.

“Calm down, kid. Here, let me help.”

WIthout even thinking of what he was doing, Tony quickly adjusted the white dress shirt so it was straight and wrinkle-free while still being tucked into the boy’s slacks. Then he absentmindedly began tying Peter’s tie for him, adjust the knot and straightening it before ruffling his hair and stepping back to admire his work.

“There,” he said, smiling. “Now you look ready for a Stark Industries party. MJ won’t be able to contain herself,” he teased.

Peter ducked his head and blushed. He hadn’t really needed Tony to tie his tie for him, since he kind of sort of learned for homecoming and he would have figured it out, but he enjoyed his mentor helping him nonetheless. It made him feel like he had a father again. Wow, wait. _What?_

Tony didn’t seem to notice the surprise on Peter’s face from the teen’s own thoughts, because at that moment, May walked out of her room and into the living room. He went speechless as he took in the sight of her. She was wearing the same black dress she had worn for their first date, but Tony noticed that this time she was wearing the necklace he had just given her for Christmas.

May blushed as she saw Tony just standing there, mouth open, seemingly in shock after she had entered the room. Suddenly he snapped out of his stupor and quickly made his way over to her to scoop her up in a hug and greeted her with a breathtaking kiss.

Tony heard Peter give a cough in the background, but at the moment wanted to just focus on May, because he still couldn’t believe he got to be with such a beautiful woman. Finally the couple parted, May just laughing and shaking her head.

“Well, I guess I should dress up more often if this is the greeting I get.”

Tony grinned at her. “You don’t need to get dressed up for that. I’ll give you that greeting every time I see you if you want.”

“No thank you! That’s not necessary!” Peter called out from the other side of the room. He didn’t know how often they were together when he was gone, but he was with them pretty often and did not need to see that every time they were together.

Tony and May stepped away from each other, laughing at Peter’s reaction. “Come one, Kid,” Tony said, leading them to the door. “Let’s go grab your date and head over. Pepper will have my head if we’re late.”

“Aren’t you always late to these things?” Peter teased.

Tony rolled his eyes. “Fine, later than I normally am. Now let’s go!”

 

They rolled up to the concert hall that the party was being held at around 8pm after collecting MJ and only slightly teasing Peter about the blush on his cheeks from seeing her in her navy blue, floor-length dress and silver necklace. Peter had looked completely enamored with his friend, to where he was almost unable to stutter a greeting and compliment. MJ and just smirked before greeting the adults and joining them in the car, greeting Happy as well when she saw him behind the wheel.

Now, the group exited the car at the party. Tony and May exited first, glad that most of the focus of all the press stayed on them, giving Happy a chance to guide the teenagers into the building. Tony wrapped an arm around May’s waist, slightly angling her body to face him as he guided them through the throng of reporters. He wanted to shield her from the camera flashes as much as he could.

May kept a smile on he face as she just focused on Tony’s hands guiding her up to the doors. She started thinking about what all the news and gossip sights will be saying after the party. Her and Tony hadn’t attempted to keep their relationship secret, but they certainly haven’t been flaunting that fact that May was dating Tony Stark. She had noticed a couple people taking pictures on their previous dates, but nothing ever surfaced from those incidents.

Now though, camera flashes were everywhere the cacophony of noise from all the different people asking the same questions; _“Who’s you’re date, Mr. Stark?” “Where’s Pepper Potts?” “Is this your new fling for the evening, Stark?”_

May was slightly offended at some of the questions being thrown at them, but followed Tony’s lead and said nothing. There were several questions about the Accords and the Rouge Avengers thrown into the mix too, but Tony would simply grin and say no comment for everything asked.

After what felt like forever, they finally made it inside the building. May released a breath she hadn’t known she was holding and felt her whole body relax. She felt Tony slump next to her and rested his forehead on her shoulder.

“I always hate the part,” he mumbled.

May chuckled and ran her fingers through his hair in the way she knew he loved. Sure enough, she felt Tony relax even more against her. Before she could reply, they heard Peter call out to them.

“Tony! May! Are you guys okay?”

The two adults looked up to see Peter running towards them with MJ and Happy both following at a slower place. May smiled and pulled Peter into an embrace as he reached them.

“Yes, baby. Tony and I are fine, just recovering from all the camera flashes. We’re fine.”

Tony patted his shoulder. “We’re good, kid. It’s nothing I haven’t dealt with before. How did it go for you guys. Everything is alright?”

Peter nodded. “Yeah, Happy brought us through a side door.”

Tony looked over at Happy and gave him a nod of thanks. “Well,” he started, catching May’s eye and smiling. “Who’s ready to go kick in the new year?”

The group moved from the entrance hall and made their way into the actual room where the party was happening. Tony had his arm around May’s waist again, keeping her by his side, while Peter and MJ were hesitantly holding hands.

As they walked through the doors, Tony glanced around to everyone. “Alright, I have to go make my rounds and schmooze with all the grouchy, old business men we had to invite. You guys can go off and do whatever you want. We can meet up in a couple hours.”

Peter and MJ nodded and headed straight towards the catering tables, Happy following them from a distance. Tony had asked him to keep an eye on the kids instead of being his own security for the night, stating the teens were more likely to be approached and made uncomfortable by someone they didn’t know.

May turned to Tony and reached for his hands, intertwining their fingers. “I think I’ll just stick with you. This isn’t something I’m used to being at and I don’t think the teenagers want a boring adult following them around.”

Tony raised an eyebrow and gestured to Happy, before winking and leaning in to give his girlfriend a quick kiss. “Of course you can come with me, honey. I’d love that. I need to show off my amazingly beautiful girlfriend somehow.”

May rolled her eyes but began walking nonetheless. “Or maybe I’ll find Pepper and we can sneak off together to conspire against you,” she teased.

Tony gave a mock gasp of shock. “My own girlfriend! How could you betray me like this?”

Before May could reply, they were interrupted by a couple in their late 60’s, the man instantly reaching his hand out for Tony to shake.

“Good evening, Mr. Stark,” the man says, completely cutting their conversation off.

Tony gave him one of his famous press smiles. A part of May hated seeing that smile back on Tony’s face, only just realizing how by now Tony is always giving her a genuine smile that reaches his eyes. She didn’t know how much she hated his public persona act until it took away _her_ Tony. Not that she’d say anything about it. May understood that was how Tony got through all the public events and other things he had to do as _Tony Stark_. It made her appreciate how real Tony has allowed himself to be when he’s around her and Peter.

Tony shook the man’s hand, acknowledging both the man and his wife. “Mr. and Mrs. Henderson, it’s great to see you. Thank you for making it to the party.”

Mr. Henderson gave him a crooked grin. “Yes, well, as a board member, I figured I would need to make an appearance at a Stark Industries event.” The man paused and finally looked over at May, giving her the barest acknowledgement for the first time since the approached. He turned back to Tony, the crooked grin still on his face. “And I see you found a pretty face to accompany you tonight. It looks better than showing up alone, good choice.”

May instantly hated the man. The only reason she didn’t say anything was because Mrs. Henderson mouthed an apology to her instantly, looking like she wanted to slap her husband, but wouldn’t because they were in public. It also helped that Tony beat her to the punch.

“I’ll agree that May has a beautiful face, but I can assure that is not the reason I asked _my girlfriend_ to accompany me tonight. I need her by my side to stop me from punching rich chauvinist assholes like you.”

With those words, Tony gave a quiet goodnight to Mrs. Henderson and pulled May away, refusing to look back and apologize to the stunned look on the older man’s face. Tony’s grip was tight, but not painful. He didn’t let go of her hand until they were practically on the other side of the large room.

Once Tony stopped moving, May was quick to wrap him in a hug. She felt him bury his face in her neck, wrapping his arms tightly around her too. She turned and kissed his temple. “Thank you for standing up for me,” she whispered.

Tony gave her a squeeze and mumbled, “He’s an asshole and needed put in his place.”

May pulled back enough to lean in and give Tony a real kiss. “I still appreciate it.”

Tony hummed and was about to reply when someone else called his name. With a sigh, Tony quickly turned around, but grinned when he saw the young man walking towards them. “Mr. Bennet! I’m so glad you were given an invitation. It’s great to see you!”

They animatedly shook hands, the grin never leaving either of their faces. May was glad to see the difference in Tony’s reaction to this young man compared to Mr. Henderson. Obviously Tony actually enjoyed being around this man.

Tony looked over at May, the grin still on his face. “May, this is Clark Bennet, one of our R&D leads. Clark, this is my girlfriend, May Parker.”

May and Clark shook hands. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Bennet.”

Clark smiled. “Likewise, Ms. Parker, but please, call me Clark.”

“Then I, May.”

They all stood talking for several minutes, Tony and Clark catching up and discussing several projects when Tony saw Peter and MJ wandering nearby. He quickly excused himself to go being them over.

“Clark, let me introduce you to these two here. Peter is my intern and May’s nephew and this his ‘friend’ MJ. Pete, MJ, this is Clark Bennet, one of SI’s R&D leads.”

Clark shook hands with the teens and started talking to Peter about different things he did as Tony’s intern and what they both enjoyed in school and different science and engineering topics. May smiled as she watched Peter discussing his passions. She felt Tony gently pull her away from the trio.

“We’re going to go mingle a bit more. Clark, again, great to see you. Kids, we’ll see you in a bit,” Tony said as he started walking away, May following. May finally asked where they were going, causing Tony to turn and grin at her. “I found Pepper, and she’s with that guy, the lawyer. David whatshisname.”

My rolled her eyes but let Tony drag her along anyways. She mumbled Pepper wasn’t going to like whatever Tony wanted to do. Tony purposefully ignore these gumblings and nonchalantly walked up to Pepper and David, who were in the middle of a conversation, with his arm around May’s waist again.

“Hey Pep! Fancy seeing you here,” Tony greeted with faux surprise.

May tried to contain her laughter at the unamused face that Pepper was giving Tony. She caught David’s eye and tried to look apologetic on her boyfriend’s behalf. It seemed that David was enjoying the interaction just as much as she was though, so it couldn’t be too bad.

Tony just grinned at the glare Pepper was sending them. The two of them have been friends long enough to understand what was about to happen and Tony knew there wouldn’t be any serious repercussions from Pepper. He knew she secretly found it sweet that he acted like a protective brother to her.

At the moment though, Pepper just glared, trying to deter Tony from whatever he was planning on doing. “Tony,” she greeted, dryly.

Tony just grinned and turned to David, holding his hand out to shake. “Mr. Felts! How nice to see you outside of a lawsuit meeting.”

David didn’t even blink. “I could say the same, Mr. Stark. Though, I do quite enjoy pissing off people who think they can trick the courts and simultaneously steal money from you and the company.”

“Do you enjoy it as much as being with Ms. Potts, over here?”

May and Pepper both moved to smack Tony in the arm, but before they could, David let out a laugh.

“Oh, come on, Mr. Stark. You and I both know that when compared to being in the presence of Pepper, or your own girlfriend,” he added quickly, gesturing to May, “everything else pales and seems dreadfully boring.”

Pepper smiled and reached over to grab David’s hand, giving it a squeeze. David smiled at her too, giving his own responding squeeze.

May smirked at Tony, who was looking at David with both respect and annoyance that he couldn’t fluster David but proud of his responses. The man _was_ a lawyer, so it seemed obvious he wouldn’t be too intimidated by Tony’s attempts.

“Smart answer, Mr. Felts,” the billionaire muttered.

Pepper smirked at Tony’s attempts at verbal intimidation and how smoothly David handled them. When he noticed her smirk, David smiled and gave her a wink, which Tony caught and rolled his eyes.

Tony looked over and gave May a half-pleading look. “How about you and Pepper go grab some drinks for a sec? You two can even conspire against me like you were threatening earlier.”

Both women knew exactly why Tony wanted them gone for a moment and as much as she wanted to protest, Pepper knew that Tony wouldn’t stop until he felt like he scared David enough. She had warned the lawyer beforehand that Tony might try something like that though, which is what allowed her to leave with May.

Tony and David watched their ladies walked away together before turning back to face each other. Once the women were out of earshot, both men gave a couple laughs. Tony knew David was a good man. He was Tony’s go-to guy in SI’s legal department for any issues that come up. He knew the man was honest, dependable, and a hard worker. Even with knowing all that, Tony still felt like he needed to let the lawyer know what would happen if he did anything to hurt Pepper. And he planned to tell him so.

“May seems like a great woman, Mr. Stark,” David spoke up, pulling Tony from his thoughts.

The superhero nodded. “That she is, David. May and Pepper are both amazing women.”

David laughed and nodded in agreement. “Believe me, I know how amazing Pepper is. There isn’t a woman like her.”

Tony watched how David’s gaze travel over to the two women, whom were talking to each other, heads close together and gesturing somewhere off to the side of the room. “You’re right,” Tony told him. “There isn’t another woman like Pepper. She’s incredible and I look at her like family. She’s been my family for years, even when she was just my PA. And if there’s anything I believe you’ve learned about me in the time you’ve worked for us, David, is that I am extremely protective of anyone I consider family.”

David grinned, but Tony could see the caution in his eyes. That look caused Tony to grin, almost his full press smile that he’s been told makes him look like a shark, but not quite there yet. “I should hope that you also know that as Iron Man, and a former weapons designer, the _best_ weapons designer might I add, I have many, _many_ ways to both keep my family safe and inflict harm on those who hurt them.”

David’s grin fell from his face. He shuffled his feet a bit as he quickly looked to the floor. Tony tried to stop from grinning too much, as he felt he had made his point very clear. He knew that sometimes people tend to forget just how dangerous Tony was. Even when he wasn’t in his Iron Man suit, he was a force to be reckoned with, between his intelligence, extensive weapons knowledge and ability, and all the training he’e kept up with to handle being a superhero, the man was dangerous all on his own.

David tried to hide his gulp and gave Tony a quick nod. “Of course, sir. I would expect nothing less from you. I give you my word that I will never intentionally hurt Pepper. I know you care about her, but I do too. I wouldn’t dream of ever hurting her. I hope you allow me the chance to prove that to you, Mr. Stark.”

Tony nodded, impressed. He had already respected David, but that might have just gone up a little bit. Instead of telling him that, he just patted the lawyer’s shoulder. “You’re a good man, David. And I’m not the one you have to prove anything to. Pepper is her own woman and would kick my ass if she thought I expected you to prove anything to _me_. It’s all her you have to watch for.”

He started walking over to steal May back from Pepper, he had to try and keep their conspiring to a minimum at least, before pausing to turn back to David. “But I will be watching. That, I can guarantee.”

WIth that final warning, he quickly sided up to May and greeted her with a kiss on her cheek. May greeted him in kind and let him pull her away while he told Pepper to go find her lawyer friend. The couple walked around for a while greeting and talking to most of the guests at the party. May felt that by this time she must have met most of the board and people in charge of all the departments of SI after all the introductions she was a part of.

Eventually, Peter and MJ had found their way back to the older couple, Happy trailing along after them. “Tony, May! Come on, the ball’s about to drop!”

The group moved to the floor-to-ceiling windows facing Times Square. There were also TV’s set up around the large hall for people to watch the countdown from, but it was a better view from the windows. Sure enough, the countdown clock was projecting the last 30 seconds oas they found good viewing spots.

May reached out to hold Tony’s hand, smiling when his whole body followed, pulling her into his side. They watched as Peter tried to subtly reach for MJ’s hand, and tried not to laugh as the girl just rolled her eyes and blatantly reached over and took his hand in hers, pulling him closer. Although, he didn’t follow near as smoothly as Tony had. The spider hero stumbled over to MJ, almost falling on his face, but catching himself at the last minute, his face beet red.

Soon, the countdown started, all conversations on pause as everyone started yelling the countdown. May felt Tony’s arm tighten encouragingly around her waist and at “one” he turned to face her, smiling. “Happy New Year,” he whispered, leaning in to kiss her.

May smiled and responded by kissing him back. She hadn’t had as nice of a New Year’s Eve as this in a long time, even with all the schmoozing around and press, it was still nice to be with both her boys and other people that have started to become integrated in her circle of people.

Peter on the other hand, had no idea if he was supposed to kiss MJ or not, like everyone else was apparently doing. He’s never had someone to kiss on New Year’s Eve and had no idea what MJ wanted him to do. He was having this internal conflict from the moment his crush (yes, he’ll finally admit it to himself, but will never tell Tony he was right) grabbed his hand.

Peter almost didn’t notice when the countdown hit zero, but he certainly heard MJ chuckle and felt her lean closer. Oh man, here we go. Peter froze when he felt MJ kiss his cheek. She just kissed him! Well… only on the cheek, but still!

“Happy New Year, loser,” MJ whispered, still chuckling at his reaction. Peter was sure he stuttered out a response, but it felt like his brain has gone into meltdown mode and can’t process anything anymore.

_Best New Year’s ever_ , he thought, happily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So tell me, did Tony intimidating Lawyer-David live up to your expectations? SatanicMe gave me a good idea of half the stuff said, so thank you for that! I'm a 9 on the enneagram, which is the peacekeeper, so I'm not naturally good of thinking up decent confrontations, haha. 
> 
> Anyways, let me know what you thought in the comments below! 
> 
> I LOVE talking to you guys about your thoughts on the story. It helps me find inspiration and gives me the drive to keep writing each chapter.
> 
> Have a great day!


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not dead! And I survived hosting people for a month! 
> 
> Here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> P.S. Far From Home: Such an amazing movie. All the parallels to Iron Man 3 were great and it was such a good movie. I'm down for discussing it in the comments if you want to!
> 
> P.P.S. Guys, Jeremy Renner can freaking sing! I knew he could, but his songs are super good! Nomad is my favorite, it really speaks to me as a creative. Although the music video for Main Attraction is interesting and a little weird. (Also willing to discuss this in the comments)

It was 2 days later and May and Tony were lounging around Tony’s penthouse while they waited for Peter to return from his extra-long patrol. He had begged them to let him go on a longer patrol since it was his last day of break before school started up again. Now, they sat on the couch, the TV playing in the background as they lightly dozed together.

The vibration of Tony's phone pulled them both out of their doze. He reached over and unlocked it to find a text from Pepper. He read it, frowning as he did so.

"What's it say?" May asked, seeing his frown.

"Pepper says we need to turn the news on," he muttered, sending back a quick reply.

"Friday?" May asked, looking over to the closest camera.

Without a word, Friday switch the tv channels and turned it to one of the news stations that was doing their entertainment news section.

_" - other news, pictures from the annual Stark Industries New Year's Eve party are making their way around, and what people have been asking more than anything is: who is the woman that Tony Stark brought with him?"_

A picture popped up in the corner of the screen, and it showed Tony and May walking through the press gauntlet towards the door of the concert hall. It showed Tony holding May close to him, trying to block her from the majority of the cameras and reporters.

_"Not only was the couple seen entering the party together, but it seems they never strayed far from each other the entire night."_

More pictures popped up on the screen. Several of them just showed Tony and May meeting and talking to other important people at the party. The last handful of pictures though, were more intimate and interesting than the first part.

The first picture was of May and Tony hugging, his head buried against May's neck. The couple realized it was right after they talked to the Hendersons. Neither had noticed any photographers around them at the time.

The next picture was of Tony, May, Pepper, and David all talking by the bar. Tony's arm around May's waist was glaringly obvious as the four adults talked and smiled pleasantly at each other.

After that was a picture someone had caught of them kissing as the New Year's countdown ended that night. May had her hand rest against Tony's cheek, and even though they were in the middle of the kiss, you could see both of them grinning the entire time.

_"So who is this mystery woman that seems to have captured Tony Stark's attention? No one seems to know. Hopefully we'll have more information to share next time."_

"Friday, off."

The AI turned the TV off and the couple sat there staring at the black screen.

"Well," Tony started, "we knew that eventually it would get out. At least they didn't show any pictures of the kids."

May didn't know what to think. She knew that dating Tony meant that the public would know eventually and that she would be in the public eye much more than when she was living her simple life of middle-class anonymity. That said, she never really prepared herself for when their relationship actually came to light.

Tony noticed her silence and moved to grab her hand, gaining her attention. “Hey,” he whispered, “I promise that everything’s going to be alright.”

May just nodded, still trying to process the sudden onslaught of anxious thoughts that have invaded her mind.

“We have several different options to handle this,” Tony continued, knowing May needed him to take charge at the moment. “One option is to publicly announce our relationship and put it completely out in the open. We don’t deny anything and essentially let the press completely into our lives. Another option is to lie and deny everything so the press stays off your back. Or, we could just refuse to acknowledge any of what’s going on and let it blow over until the next big press event. People will eventually move on to more interesting topics until they see us at another event like the party again. The last one may be the best plan right now. It won’t fix the issue forever but it’ll give us time to prepare for the inevitable and give us time to talk and prepare Peter as well.”

“Then let’s do that.”

Tony watched May for a few seconds, waiting to see if she was really okay with this or not. He grew up in the eyes of the press, so this was nothing new to him. For someone like May though, this was an extreme invasion of privacy that she has to come to terms with. He knew she wasn’t used to people watching her and questioning her actions and motives all the time like Tony was.

The difference though, was that no one had been there to support or guide Tony through the press gauntlets. The people he thought would do that for him had always just thrown him to the wolves instead. May, though, had Tony in her corner, protecting her from the worst of it and guiding her through the best. And they would both do that for Peter, as he would also be included in all this, no matter how much either adult wished the teen could stay hidden from reporters for as long as possible to have a normal high school life. Or as normal as a teen vigilante could.

“Alright,” Tony finally said. “We can refuse to answer anything as long as you need to. We’ll go at your’s and Peter’s pace. There’s no rush.”

May nodded and pulled Tony into a hug as thanks. He seemed to understand as he just held her tighter, placing a kiss on her temple, whispering that everything will work out. She believed him, because this was his area of expertise and he hasn’t led her wrong yet.

Later that evening, once Peter came back from his patrol, they sat him down and explained the bit of press interest and what might happen before it starts to die down, as well as the plan to ignore it until they can’t any longer so they have time to form a good plan to handle everything.

Peter took it well, agreeing that he didn’t want to be in the spotlight yet, especially because it would be harder to hide his identity as Spider-Man the more he was in the press. The teen also agreed to ignore or just refuse to give information about Tony and May’s relationship at school if he was asked. He figured that would be the easiest part for him, because who would want to talk to him about something like that. He was just a loser nerd at Midtown.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Sometimes Peter really hated his life.

Such as right now. It was the first day of school after Christmas break and he instantly regretted ever believing that everyone would ignore him as normal. Now, to be fair, _most_ of the school is ignoring him like usual. His teammates on the decathlon team, on the other hand, were doing the complete opposite.

As soon as he walked into the school building, Peter knew it was going to be a long day. Ned had texted him that morning to tell him he was home sick with the stomach flu and wouldn’t be at school for the next couple of days because of it. He would be alone at school until lunch, since that is the first thing he and MJ have together, meaning he was open to anyone questioning him about the leaked pictures from New Years Eve if they wanted to.

He decathlon teammates would come up to him in groups of two or so throughout the day, trying to get answers out of him. They were the students he hung around most, meaning they were the most familiar with what May looked like and were most likely to recognize her from the photos.

He was mostly able to dodge them between classes and such by using the bells and teachers talking as an excuse. If he couldn’t dodge them entirely, he would deflect or act as clueless as he could until he could escape their probing questions.

By the time lunch came around, Peter was exhausted. Thankfully MJ had seemed to expect that and grabbed him as soon as he had his tray of food in his hands. She led him to the library, where they hid out for the rest of the period. The librarian was used to seeing them and Ned in there, spending the period either finishing homework or doing some last minute studying, so she said nothing when they entered with their food.

After several minutes of silent eating, MJ spoke up. “So… there were photographers inside the party, huh?”

Peter turned towards her, eyes wide. “MJ, I swear I had no idea they’d be there! Obviously I knew press would be outside, but that’s why we had Happy escort us through a side entrance. I’m so sorry! I wouldn’t have asked you to come if I knew there was potential for our pictures to be taken. I know you like you’re privacy and I really respect that. I like mine too. I’m not used to all the press that comes with being around Tony yet, so I would never expect you to be okay and comfortable with it. I mean, he works hard to keep me out of the public eye at all, which I think is really cool of him, cause he doesn’t have to do that, but he’s just a nice guy like that. Anyways, I understand if you’re mad at me and don’t want to hang out with me out of school because you want privacy and all that. I totally respect you if that’s what you wan- _umphf!_ ”

MJ was smirking the entire time Peter rambled nervously and tried apologizing. Eventually she wanted to get him to stop and could only think of one way to do it effectively: She leaned forward and kissed him.

As expected, that shut him up quite quickly. She leaned back and tried not to laugh as she watched him sit there in shock, mouth hanging open, seemingly in a daze. Eventually she leaned forward again and used a finger to close his mouth.

“Careful, Tiger. You don’t want to be catching flies now, do ya?”

That seemed to bring him slightly out of his daze. Peter shut his mouth and swallowed. “Um, MJ. Did- did you just _kiss me?_ ”

This time MJ did laughed. “Yeah, loser, I did. Do you have a problem with that?”

Peter shook his head so fast that MJ was worried he’d get whiplash. “N-n-no! Not all! I have absolutely no problem with you kissing me. None at all…”

“Peter?”

“Yeah, MJ?”

“Stop talking.”

The teenage vigilante didn’t do much talking for the rest of the lunch period after that.

 

Okay, Peter can admit that his day wasn’t all bad. MJ kissing him really helped improve his mood for the rest of the day. Until decathlon practice, that is.

He entered their practice room before his girlfriend _(There were boyfriend and girlfriend now, right?)_ and was instantly bombarded by the rest of the team.

“Peter!” Abe called out. “You said that your aunt wasn’t dating Tony Stark! Why was she kissing him at that New Year’s Eve party?”

Peter inwardly groaned. There was no more avoiding it. He would have to answer their questions somehow. He thought about what Tony would do in a situation like this and summoned everything he knew about “Press Tony Stark” and tried to channel it.

He gave a nonchalant shrug at Abe. “I never said that. I told you that you would never believe me if I said she was. Besides, this pictures and article never gave a name to Mr. Stark’s date. We have no idea if that is my aunt or not.”

“You would know though,” Betty pointed out. “Where was your aunt for New Years?”

“With me,” because that wasn’t a lie, “and it’s none of your business what me or my aunt do in our private lives.”

“But that looks so much like your aunt, Peter! Come on, we just want to know the truth!” Charles added.

“Please, like I said last time, there’s no way someone like Tony Stark would be dating Peter’s aunt. Someone that important wouldn’t want anything to do with people like the Parkers. I mean, come on. They’re definitely nowhere near the same level as Iron Man, financially or in brains.”

Peter jerked his head in Flash’s direction. He could take the bully calling out insults against him all day, but the minute the other teen pulled his family into it, Peter wasn’t as willing to lay down and take it.

“What are you implying about my aunt, Flash?” Peter all but growled out.

Flash just smirked. “Well look at that, Puny Parker suddenly has a backbone. I’m not implying anything Parker. I’m stating the fact that you guys are stupid. Why else would the rest of your family die to get away from you guys?”

Peter. Saw. Red.

The next thing he remembered was multiple hands pulling him off Flash as the other teen was crying in pain and holding his nose. He fought against the arms restraining him, trying to get back to Flash. It was one thing to insult Peter, but then insulting his aunt and bringing up his dead relatives crossed the line. It crossed it so far that Peter was seconds away from using all of his enhanced strength to throw the bully across the room.

He would have too if Mr. Harrison’s voice broke through the blood pounding in his ears, pulling him to the door and out in the hallway.

“Peter! Peter, calm down!”

Peter stopped struggling and took a few ragged breaths, noticing that Mr. Harrison dragged him into the hallway, MJ and another classmate of theirs, Luke, following. He could hear Flash calling out lies already, about how Peter attacked him unprovoked through the closed door.

He felt MJ put a hand on his arm, his anger flooding out of him at the touch. She gave him a concerned look and he tried to return it with a smile, but he had a feeling it came out as more of a grimace.

“Peter, would you care to explain to me why I walked in on you on top of Flash, punching him in the face?”

Peter looked over to his teacher, shame flooding his system. He never meant to lose it like that. It was too easy for his control of his strength to slip when he lets his emotions control his anger. “I’m sorry, Mr. Harrison. I didn’t mean to punch him. Do I need to go talk to Mr. Morita?”

Mr. Harrison sighed, running a hand down his tired face. “Yes, I’ll have to send both of you boys to Mr. Morita, but I want to know what happened first.”

MJ stepped forward. “ _Eugene_ provoked Peter into attacking him. He insulted him, his aunt, and implied his parents and uncle died to ‘get away from them’. If Peter hadn’t punched him, I probably would have.”

Mr. Harrison stared in surprise at his student. MJ was brilliant and an incredible student, but he’d never heard her say so much or admit to such actions. That was new to see from her. The man turned to his other student, who seemed to take it upon himself to stand as a guard in front of the door of the classroom. To prevent what, he had no idea, but he was grateful either way.

“Luke?” he asked, “what did you see happen?”

“MJ is right, Mr. Harrison. Flash completely provoked Peter. I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t have punched Flash if that was said to them. It was horrible, and everyone else in there will agree with us.”

Alright, it was extremely obvious to Mr. Harrison who was truy in the wrong in this whole thing. He was honestly secretly glad Flash’s bullying had escalated to a point where real punishment could be invoked. The teacher hated that it had to be Peter that was going to get drug through all of this as well. The poor kid just couldn’t catch a break.

“Okay,” Mr. Harrison finally said. “It sounds like Flash is the one truly at fault but since you _did_ attack him, Peter, you have to go to the principal as well.”

MJ and Luke both opened their mouths to protest, but Peter put a hand up to stop them. He knew that no matter what had been said, he shouldn’t have attacked Flash like that. He was Spider-Man, he’s supposed to be better than that!

“Of course, Mr. Harrison. I understand. Should I go now?” Peter gestured down the hallway to where the principal’s office resided.

Mr. Harrison nodded. “Yes. MJ, Luke, go with him please. Tell Mrs. Siefker I’ll be down shortly with Flash.”

With that, the trio of students quietly walked down the hall. MJ walked next to Peter, letting her fingers occasionally brush against his in silent support. At that, Peter had to smile, because despite how crappy the rest of the day had been, things between him and MJ changing have been the highlight of his sophomore year by far.

When they all made it to the office, the secretary, Mrs. Siefker, looked up at them. What can I help you guys with?”

Peter took the lead. “Um, Mr. Harrison told us to come down here and wait for him. He’s on his way with Flash. We have to talk to Mr. Morita when they get here.”

At the mention of Flash’s name, Mrs. Siefker nodded. “Alright then, you all just sit in those chairs and wait for your teacher then. Who’s parents am I contacting today?”

Luke and MJ both glanced at Peter at the mention of parents, but he was used to it from the office staff at this point. He hasn’t had parents since he was a little kid, and he knew they meant no harm when saying it. He understood it was more out of habit than anything else.

“My aunt and Flash’s parents need to be called, probably.”

Mrs. Siefker tried to hide her wince, recognizing her mistake in wording her previous question. “Right then. I’m sure you three are responsible enough to give me an explanation for _why_ they need called down here?”

This time, Luke spoke up before Peter could answer. “Flash provoked Peter and they ended up in a physical altercation.”

Peter turned to Luke, a little surprised that his classmate had spoken up.

At Peter’s questioning look, Luke shrugged. “Quickest explanation of events.”

Mrs. Siefker must have agreed, because she didn’t ask any other questions before moving back to her computer to pull up the contact info for the aforementioned parents and guardians. There was a short and awkward silence blanketing the office after that, before Luke spoke up.

“You know, I don’t blame you. Flash was way out of line with what he said. I would have done way more than just punched him in the face.”

Peter has been continuously surprised by Luke during this whole altercation. The teen had never been mean to Peter, but they never interacted outside of decathlon practices and meets. Now apparently, the boy was one of the people to pull him off Flash and then continually defend him anytime he could. Maybe after all of this, Peter could make a better attempt at getting to know Luke outside of practice.

Before Peter could share his thanks with Luke, the office door opened to Mr. Harrison escorting Flash into one of the empty chairs farther down from where the other teens were sitting. The pulley just glared at Peter as Mr. Harrison made his way into Mr. Morita’s office.

When their teacher came back out, he called MJ and Luke back in with him. While they were there, the nurse came in as well, to check over Flash’s nose. Peter watched her clean up the dried blood and tape it up enough to hold until he could be brought to a doctor. Apparently Peter broke his nose even with holding back on his strength.

After several long minutes, Mr. Morita’s door opened again and MJ and Luke walked out. Peter glanced over at Mrs. Siefker, but she was still occupied with phone calls. Peter noticed she looked both confused and sceptical of whatever was being said on the other line, but Peter didn’t question it. He used the distraction to meet the other two teens at the door.

“So?”

MJ glanced at Luke, who just nodded and gave a wave before heading out to the hallway, presumably back to practice. After he left, MJ gave Peter a quick hug. It was so fast he couldn’t even move his arms before it was over.

“We told Morita what happened,” she explained, “and we said that everyone else on the team would agree with us. He said he would take it into consideration and sent us back to practice.” She moved to the door, looking at Peter over her shoulder. “Text me when you’re out. Let me know what the damage is.”

With that, the enigma that was MJ was gone, leaving the office lobby to settle back into the tense silence it held before. It felt like the calm before the storm as Peter and Flash both stiffly sat, waiting for all the adults to show up.

Flash’s parents showed up first, already glaring at everyone even when nothing had been explained to them yet. Peter noticed Flash simultaneously shrunk into himself little bit and sat up straighter, playing off as confident and innocent. He noted that observation away for further thought.

Mr. Morita came out and greeted the Thompsons, ushering them and Flash into his office, stating that they’ll get started when Peter’s guardians arrive. Peter watched them all follow the principal and sighed. May was probably too busy at work to be able to come, meaning he would be going alone against the whole Thompson family. At least he had the testimony of the whole decathlon team backing him.

Mr. Morita came back out and called for Peter to follow as well, telling Mrs. Siefker to send in his guardians as soon as they arrived.

Both boys sat next to each other, facing Mr. Morita’s desk. Their principal started by explaining to Flash’s parents that unbiased testimonies have already been given on what took place, but for the sake of being fair, both boys would also give their sides of the story.

Flash was about to begin telling his side when Mr. Morita’s door opened and someone else joined them. Peter had been staring at his lap, but looked up in time to see Flash’s eyes widen and notice everyone looked slightly shocked at whoever walked in. When the person spoke though, Peter knew he was in trouble.

“Sorry I’m late. May called me after she was contacted. She was held up at work and asked me to come instead.”

_Well, crap._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the second half of this did NOT go where I planned it. The story kind of took a mind of it's own and I couldn't do anything but let my fingers fly across the keyboard. 
> 
> Anyways, let me know what you think down in the comments below! I love hearing your thoughts and feedback on the story, and always love discussing it and answering questions!
> 
> Have a great day!


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys! I finally got a job a job in my career field! And it's salary! I'm so excited about it!!
> 
> Anyways, here's the next chapter!

Tony was working on some paperwork for Peper when May called him. He grinned when he saw her name flash on his phone, and was quick to answer it.

“Hey, honey! How’s work going today?”

_“Tony, I need you to do me a favor. Peter’s school called and said he got into a fight and that I needed to head over there to meet with the principal. I’m swamped at work and can’t get off. Can you-”_

Tony was already leaving his office and heading down to his garage. “Say no more, May. I’m about to leave now. Do you know what happened?”

_“Thank you so much, Tony. I have no idea what’s going on. All they said was he got into a fight with another student and they needed their parents or guardians to go meet the principal.”_

By this point, Tony was in his favorite orange R8 Spyder, heading towards Midtown. “Alright, I’ll go see what’s up. I’ll call you later to update you. Are you still getting off work at the same time? Pete and I can pick you up and we can all do dinner together.”

They discussed evening plans for a few minutes before May had to hang up and get back to work. By that point, Tony was pulling up and finding a parking spot before rushing into the school, looking around for the offices. He smiled at the secretary, asking where he was supposed to go for Peter and following her dazed pointing to a door with _Principal Morita_ next to it.

He walked in, apologizing for being late. While he talked, he quickly examined the room, taking in the guy behind the desk, _must be the principal_ , the family of three whose kid’s nose was taped, _interesting, something obviously happened to call for a broken nose_ , and last but not least, his kid, who was shrinking in on himself, the guilt and fear in his eyes and body language evident to Tony.

He waited a few moments as everyone to let the shock run through their systems before clapping his hands to get everyone’s attention. “Can we continue with the discussion? I am a very busy man, as you are all aware.”

Tony noticed that Peter seemed to shrink even more at the words. It looks like he’s going to have an extremely guilt-ridden and apologetic teenager tonight.

Mr. Morita snapped out of his shock first, rising to greet Tony and shake his hand. “Thank you for taking the time to join us, Mr. Stark. I’m Mr. Morita, the principal here at Midtown.”

Tony shook his hand before moving to stand behind Peter, placing a comforting and grounding hand on his shoulder. “It’s nice to meet you. Now, May had said she was called because Peter was apparently in a fight?”

At this, the mom of the other kid spoke up. “Well, _obviously_ he was fighting! Look at my son’s face!” She turned to Morita. “I want him expelled!”

Morita put his hands up silence her before anything else was said. “Please, Mrs. Thompson. As I said before, we’re first going to hear each boy’s side of the story. I’ve already had several other students explain what happened. After they’re both done explaining, we’ll talk about punishments. Flash? You were about to start.”

Tony listened to the kid explain in a nasally tone,  _dang, that must have been a good break to his nose_ , about how Peter showed up to decathlon and started bragging to everyone about his aunt dating Tony, which is when he knew the kid was lying about the whole thing. Tony knew Peter didn’t want attention and had promised not to say anything until the media died down a bit. The kid, _Flash_ , went on to say how he asked Peter is it was really true and all of a sudden Peter was attacking him and punching him in the face, breaking his nose before Mr. Harrington and some students pulled him away.

Tony waited as patiently as he could until the kid was done with his tale before asking: “Are you finished with your lies?”

The kid’s mother _did not_ like that insinuation. She went off on Tony, asking how he dared called her son a liar and how he knew that story wasn’t what happened.

“Simple,” Tony responded, “Pete here is one of the nicest kids I know. He wouldn’t hurt a fly, let alone attack a kid for a simple question being asked. He wouldn’t do anything remotely close to this unless incredible provoked.”

Mrs. Thompson huffed and crossed her arms, obviously want to argue more, but the silent hand of her husband on her arm reigned her in. After she calmed down, Morita urged Peter to begin his side.

“Um, well…” Peter started quietly, nervously glancing up at Tony several times, “I walked into the classroom for decathlon practice and everyone started asking me questions about those pictures in the media of Mr. Stark and his date to his New Year’s Eve party. Everyone thought the woman is my Aunt May, so they wanted me to tell them if it was or not. Th-then Flash spoke up and um, he said some things that made me kinda mad. Then he, uh-”

“Go one, Peter,” Morita gently urged. He knew what Flash had said, as MJ and Luke had both told him earlier.

Peter looked down at his lap again and mumbled an answer that no one was able to hear.

“Speak up, boy,” growled Mr. Thompson, impatient.

Tony gripped the back of Peter’s chair, clenching his jaw tightly to stop himself from snapping at the man. Instead, he gave Peter another encouraging squeeze on his shoulders.

Peter looked up and glanced over at the Thompsons before quickly looking down at his lap again. “He said the reason my parents and uncle died were to get away from me and my aunt, so there was no way Mr. Stark would want to be around us,” he said, louder this time.

The room was dead silent and Tony closed his eyes, trying to rein in his anger. How _dare_ this kid… he knew teenagers were horrible to each other, but to say something like that to someone who’s lost almost his entire family? That was way too far, no matter who you were.

He turned to Mrs. Thompson and basically growled out, “and you want _my_ kid expelled? A single punch and a broken nose is the very least this prick deserves for saying that!”

Mr. Thompson spoke up. “What do you mean, _your_ kid, Stark? Parker is an orphan with only his aunt, and don’t call my son a prick again.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Whatever my relationship to Peter is, that’s none of your business. I’ll also call your kid whatever I want, because apparently he doesn’t seem to care about how others are affected by his words, so why should I care about him? While we’re on the topic who does he think he is to talk about who _I_ acquaint myself with? I’ve never met any of you before, so where does ‘your perfect son’ find any ground to stand on to argue about? Are you two the ones teaching him it is alright to bully others by making implications that relatives who have passed in _tragic accidents_ did it to, what did he say? _To get away from them?_ Great parenting going on there.”

His voice was slowly rose until he was shouting, ending in a sarcastic comment and even clapping for effect. He would have went on but felt a tug on his jacket sleeve. Tony looked down to see Peter staring at him, shaking his head slightly and silently pleading with him to stop. The look on his kid’s face was all it took to wipe every once of fight from his body.

He closed his eyes and took a breath before facing Morita. “My apologies for that outburst. My question for you is, which side lines up with what you’ve been told by the other students?”

Tony completely ignored the Thompsons, refusing to lash out again solely because he knew Peter didn’t want that. They would be talking more extensively about it later though/

Morita shuffled awkwardly in his seat for a second before l before clearing his throat and continuing on. “Well, we had several students come and tell me what happened, and they claimed that the rest of the students who had seen the altercation would agree with their version of events. What they said lines up with Peter’s side. That Flash had verbally provoked Peter and then said those things about his late family members.” Mrs. Thompson started to protest, but Morita just kept talking.

“Now, in regards to punishments, as this is not Flash’s first offense and because the severity of what he said, he’s going to be suspended for the rest of the week then detentions for the rest of the month. And even though Flash is at fault, because Peter did physically attack him, he will have detention for the next two days, as this is his first offence.”

Tony spoke up before the Thompsons could argue. “Give Peter one day of detentions and we have a deal.”

“This isn’t up for negotiations, Mr. Stark. This is my school and my students. I will punish them how I see fit.”

“Considering if this happened in the real world, Peter would be being congratulated for standing up for himself, I think one day of detention is more than fair.”

Morita sighed. “Alright, I see your point. How about Peter is excused for the rest of today and serves his detention tomorrow.”

Tony smirked. “Sounds good. I guess I’ll take him now and we’ll be on our way.”

Tony nudged Peter to get him moving. The teen quickly scrambled to his feet to follow his mentor out of the office, throwing an apologetic and grateful smile to his principal on the way out.

Peter caught up to Tony in the hallway as they headed towards the front doors. He glanced up at the billionaire before looking back down at the floor. He knew he was in big trouble. He just had to be. Tony was an extremely busy and important man, far too busy to have to come pick him up from school because of a childish fight.

They were silent the entire walk to the car and up until they were half-way back to the Tower. Peter didn’t want to be the one to bring up his inevitable punishment, but he was extremely nervous to Tony to bring it up as well.

“So,” Tony said, breaking the suffocating silence, “how long has that kid been bullying you?”

Peter looked over at him from the passenger seat. “Wh-what do you mean?”

Tony gave him a dry look. “Don’t insult me, kid. I can tell a bully when I see one. How long has he been bullying you?”

Well crap. Peter tried to think of how he could talk himself out of this. He didn’t need Tony to know how he couldn’t stand up for himself at school, that just made him look weak, which a superhero shouldn’t be. He also didn’t want Tony to kill Flash, which is what would happen if Tony knew the truth.

“He hasn’t really bullied me,” Peter stammered out. “I think he’s just jealous of the fact that I know you, between the internship and now these pictures of you and May and all.”

Tony didn’t say anything for a moment, he just stared at Peter and finally gave a noncommittal hum. “Well, either way we have to explain to your aunt why you have detention tomorrow.”

At that, Peter shrunk into his seat. “Tony, I’m so sorry you had to come out for that. I didn’t mean to punch him or for any of that to happen, and I know that’s not what heros do. You also didn’t have to actually come to the meeting. I know you’re really important and super busy because of SI and the Accords. You were probably in the middle of a meeting you couldn’t miss and then you left, meaning Pepper is probably mad at you too and that’s going to make work horrible for you and it’s all my fault and I’m not worth you leaving work to pick me up from school -”

“Peter!”

Peter shut his mouth and looked up at Tony, who had pulled the car off to the side of the road and was just watching the teen. “Sorry,” Peter whispered. He didn’t mean to ramble, but it happened when he’s nervous.

Tony just sat and watched Peter shrink into himself. He sighed and placed a hand on his kid’s shoulder. “Peter,” he said again, gentler this time, “I’m not mad at you. I wasn’t in any meetings, nor have I missed any today. All I’ve been doing is going over paperwork, which can be done whenever. No one’s mad at anyone, okay?”

Peter silently nodded, looking down at his lap and refusing to look up, until he felt Tony lifting his chin up to meet his eyes.

“I’m also _never_ too busy for you, alright? Please don’t say you’re not worth my time, kiddo. You’re worth every minute of it. You and your aunt are worth more of my time than anyone from SI or anyone dealing with the Accords can even imagine, alright? So don’t apologize for me having to come pick you up, because I _want_ to be the one called if your aunt can’t be there for you.”

Peter didn’t say anything, but he flew over to center console and wrapped himself around Tony in the tightest hug he could manage in the car. He felt Tony chuckle and wrap his arms around the teen’s back.

“Thank you,” Peter whispered into Tony’s neck.

“Anytime, Underoos.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think in the comments below! I love hearing all y'all's thoughts about the story!
> 
> Also, if anyone has any prompt or ideas that you want to see written for this, let me know! I'm always looking for more ideas. 
> 
> Have a great day! Love you all!


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at this! *gasp* A chapter so soon! 
> 
> I'm trying to write as much as I can before I start my new job next week and I just couldn't wait to put the next chapter out any longer. 
> 
> Thanks so much for everyone who has commented, gave kudos, or has subscribed to this story. You have no idea how happy it's made me seeing that people actually like my writing. Love you all!
> 
> P.S. Have you even heard the song "Far From Home - Trailer Version" by Sam Tinnesz and Tommee Profitt? If not, you should totally check it out! It's killer!

“Are you sure we should be getting ice cream right now, Tony? Aren’t I supposed to be receiving a punishment for punching a classmate?”

After their little heartfelt moment in the car, Tony decided to take them out for ice cream before going home to plan dinner with May. Which was why the two of them were currently sitting in a local ice cream parlor, sitting in a secluded corner with Tony donning a hat and sunglasses to try and hide his identity. They had ordered already and were waiting for the ice cream to be made.

“Do you want to be punished for finally standing up for yourself?”

“... well, no but -”

Tony chuckled. “Then don’t question it, kid. Besides, I don’t think I’ve hit the stage of being allowed to dish out non-superhero related punishments yet. That’s something we’ll have to wait for May on.”

Their ice cream arrived before Peter could reply and for several minutes, the conversation lulled as they both enjoyed their frozen treats.

“Do you think May is going to be mad at me?”

Tony looked up from his ice cream when Peter spoke. The kid was slowly stirring his ice cream with his spoon, not meeting Tony’s eyes.

“Do _you_ think she’ll be mad?”

Peter just shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never gotten in trouble for something like this before. I just hope she doesn’t get really mad.”

Tony leaned over and ruffled Peter’s hair, earning a quiet squawk of protest, causing Tony to chuckle. “How about, if May does get mad, I’ll talk to her privately before any punishment is decided on, yeah?”

Peter gave his mentor a small smile. “Thanks, Tony.”

 

* * *

 

Later that evening, Tony and Peter picked May up from work and the three of them found themselves enjoying a dinner of homestyle burgers and fries from on of Peter and May’s favorite diners. Peter was finishing his third burger while they waited for their milkshakes to be made and brought out to them.

The dinner rush was starting to slow down, but there was still a decent amount of people in the family-owned diner. Occasionally Tony would notice someone trying to secretly take pictures of them while they were eating, but he didn’t acknowledge any of it. They still hadn’t publicly address all the rumors of who Tony was dating, but they weren’t trying to be secretive about it either.

“So,” May began after the waitress brought them their milkshakes. “How did the meeting at school go today? Do you boys care to share on what fight Peter was in?”

Tony and Peter glanced at each other before Tony motioned for Peter to start talking. Peter nervously looked at May before sliding his gaze down to his milkshake, taking a long sip to delay the talk longer.

May gave a quiet sigh of annoyance. “Peter…”

Peter winced. He knew that his aunt hated it when he tried to avoid answering her questions. “Well,” he slowly began, “Flash was saying some things before decathlon started and it just made me mad and I accidentally punched him in the face and broke his nose.”

May watched her nephew hunch in on himself, his nerves on full display as he waited for what he thought her reaction would be. To be honest though, May already knew that whatever happened had to have been on another level of bullying to get Peter to actually react. She was secretly jealous of how much self-control he had sometimes.

Tony just gave a little scoff. He nudge Peter under the table with his foot. “Come on Kid, don’t sell yourself short,” he turned to May, “I’m actually quite proud that he finally stood up for himself, and if you ask me, the prick deserved it and more for what he said. I know I would have done more to his face than what Pete did.”

May wanted to scold Tony for promoting violence as a response but she caught how Peter held himself just a tad bit higher at Tony’s words. She couldn’t do anything to bring Peter back down to just a bundle of nerves, that would be cruel on her part.

She turned to Tony and instead of scolding she just asked what had been said. She watched as Tony’s eyes flicked over to Peter, who was still watching them nervously, before Tony pulled his phone out and started typing. May was about to ask what he was doing when she heard her phone ping. With one more questioning look at Tony, she slowly reached for her phone and read the text he just sent her, her eyes widening more and more the farther she read.

May was silent for a moment. She couldn’t believe Peter had to hear that. That was horribly offensive and she can’t find it in her to be mad at him any more. She agreed with Tony, she was proud Peter stood up for himself. She still wasn’t happy that he broke the kid’s nose, but she’d discuss that later. Right now she just wanted to pull her baby into her arms and comfort him for the foreseeable future. Which is exactly what she did.

Without warning, May moved to Peter’s side of the table and wrapped him in a bear hug, pulling him as close as she could. She tried to figure out what to say to comfort and love on Peter, to reassure him that none of that is true, that his parents and Ben loved him so much, but she just couldn’t seem to find the right words.

From the way Peter was hugging her back, he seemed to have understood.

Tony watched the scene with a smile and a warm feeling in his chest. He knew eventually they’d have to discuss a punishment, because either way they had to show Peter that violence wasn’t the answer to solving problems, even though the teen was Spider-man and had the best moral compass out of everyone and should probably be teaching _them_ that instead. But parents were supposed to be mature and responsible and teach those types of things to their kids, so that was what he and May would have to do.

 _Wait_ , why was Tony mentally assigning himself as one of Peter’s parents? He had no right to think that! He was just the mentor/boyfriend. But more importantly, when did he start to think of Peter as his own kid?

Tony was brought out of his thoughts when he felt May grab his hand from across the table and motioned for him to join in on their little hug fest. He gave her a soft grin and quietly joined from behind Peter, sandwiching the teen between both adults. Peter gave a laugh at being squeezed, but he seemed to relax and melt even further under all the love and reassurance he was getting from them both.

As this was happening, Tony’s phone suddenly started ringing obnoxiously. Tony would have ignored it if it wasn’t for seeing that it was Happy calling him. Reluctantly, Tony untangled himself from the group hug and answered.

“Yeah, Hap? What’s up, we’re in the middle of din-”

_“Tony! Listen, you guys need to get to the employee entrance of wherever you are and wait for me to pick you guys up. Someone leaked May and Peter’s identities earlier today, as well as basically all the main details of your relationship. The press are going crazy and you’re about to get bombarded.”_

Tony swore and glanced out the window, seeing that Happy was right when he caught a couple photographers already waiting around the front doors. “Why wasn’t I told about this earlier? Why am I just now finding out?”

_“I don’t know, Tony. I just heard about it myself, but the seems the first leak happened right before lunch today, it was just took time to traction to pick up. I’m on my way, just try to get you guys somewhere around back. I’ll call you when I pull up.”_

Happy hung up without another word and tony looked out the window again, still swearing. He hated paparazzi with a passion. He has his whole life, and now May and Peter are getting subjected to their invasive tendencies.

May and Peter were looking at him with worry. “Tony,” May asked, “what’s going on? Is everything alright?”

Tony sighed. “Not really. Apparently the press know everything about us now. Someone released information about you and Peter and details about our relationship.” He paused to grab the waitress’s attention to ask if there was a back entrance for them to leave. Once he had confirmation and directions, he pulled out his wallet to pay for their food and leave a hefty tip as an apology for the hassle and for the chaos that’s about to break loose.

“Come on,” he said to May and Peter, “Happy is going to meet us out back and bring us back to the Tower so we can regroup and figure out how to handle all this.” With that, he placed a hand on Peter’s shoulder and at the small of May’s back, leading them both out back.

Happy arrived within minutes and the trio quickly climbed into the car. They set off for the Tower, the silence of the car thick with tension and nerves. Tony instantly pulled out his phone and called Pepper, discussing their options and ideas on how to proceed, May joining in and discussing it all with them after Tony put the call on speaker so May could hear too.

Peter grabbed his phone and started googling anything to do with Tony and May, reading the different articles that have already been published.

Most of them gave the same main points: explaining who May Parker and her nephew Peter Parker are, where May worked and where Peter went to school, Peter’s internship, how long May and Tony had been dating, as well as a lot of pictures to back everything up. Some pictures were horrible phone-camera quality while some were remarkably well-taken.

Peter saw that some articles speculate that Peter was secretly Tony’s illegitimate son and that was why the superhero was dating May. Some called her a gold-digger that was only after his money. Some said that Tony had cheated on Pepper with May, while others called May the rebound from the former power couple’s break-up.

They stayed focused on their separate tasks for the entire drive, Peter looking up from his phone to see the Tower coming into sight. Happy was about to turn to drive to the private garage when Peter’s spidey sense flared up. Before he could do anything though, there was suddenly a loud _crash_ and Peter’s world was suddenly spinning really fast and he felt intense pressure on his whole body before everything went black.

 

* * *

 

Happy was just about to turn to the parking garage when the car flew out of nowhere and hit their back left bumper at an angle, causing the car to spin out and land on the other side of the road. The sudden hit caused Happy to hit his head on the steering wheel, knowing the man unconscious.

Thankfully, everyone had their seat belts on, so they were just jerked around and dazed from the hit. The real issue was as soon as the car came to a halt, Peter’s door opened, his seat belt was cut, and he was roughly yanked out and away from the car before anyone could blink.

Peter gave a yelp as he came back to awareness by the sharp pain in his arm and the feeling of metal against the back of his head. He groaned and shook his head, trying to clear the fuzziness so he can think straight and focus on what was happening. Did a car hit theirs? That’s what he thought happened… then why was he on the sidewalk and what’s against his head? _Oh…_

 

Tony groaned and blinked his eyes rapidly to clear everything. _What happened?_ He looked around to make sure everyone else was okay. He saw May groaning and coming to and saw Happy out cold in the driver’s seat. He sluggishly took his seat belt off and stumbled forward to check his friend’s pulse, relief flooding through him when he found it steady and strong. Just unconscious then.

He looked around to check on Peter when found the teen’s seatbelt in shreds and the back door wide open. “Peter!” He stumbled out of the car, looking around for any sign of his kid.

May jolted to awareness when Tony yelled, noticing the same problem, that Peter was missing. She struggled out of her seat and quickly followed her boyfriend out of the car. They both frantically looked around in the growing crowd of people surrounding the crash, trying to find their teenager.

“Look who’s awake!”

Tony spun around towards the voice and instantly activated his wrist gauntlet when he saw Peter being held at gunpoint. With his free arm, Tony pulled May behind him, to shield her from anyone else with a gun. The small crowd gasped but seemed frozen in shock at the stand-off taking place, to scared yet also too curious to move away.

Tony glared at the tall, balding man. He didn’t recognize the man, but that didn’t matter because Tony knew the man was going to die if he hurt Peter. Speaking of, he locked eyes with the teen and saw Peter’s were wide with fear. Spider-Man knows how to handle men with guns, but Peter Parker has no experience on how to handle men with guns, and Tony can see that very obviously in his face.

Tony focused back to the man holding the gun. He kept his gauntlet raised in preparation. "Whatever issues you have, the kid has no part in it. Let him go."

The man just laughed. "You're right," he said. "My issues are all with you, but I can't let him go, otherwise you'll never learn your lesson, Stark!"

Tony felt May grip the back of his shirt tightly and felt her quick intake of breath when then man shoved the gun deeper against Peter's head. Tony knew he had to be extremely careful about this situation. Not only to keep Peter and May safe, but to keep all the civilians safe as well. He just prayed that someone was smart enough to call 911 when this all started.

"Now listen here Stark. First things first, if you don't want the kid to get a bullet in his head, take of the Iron Man hand. Now."

Without hesitation, Tony deactivated the gauntlet and raised his hands. “Okay, okay. Look, the gauntlet is gone, it’s just you and me. Leave Peter alone.”

The man shook his head and gestured towards Tony’s wrist with the gun. “I’m not an idiot. Take the watch off and throw it over here. Now!” He watches as Tony does just that, completely disarming himself to keep the attention off of Peter.

The man grinned. “Good. Now that that’s out of the way, time for your lesson. You see, I lost my entire family because of you, Stark. Not all at once, but they’re all gone nonetheless. I lost my wife in the Expo attack years ago, leaving me to be single father to our two kids. Then, my brother dies in the New York invasion. Then years later my kids go on a missions trip to Sokovia and guess what happens then! Murderous robots that you created level that entire country! You’ve taken away my entire family, Stark. Now there’s word that you’ve found yourself a facsimile of a family yourself. I can’t have that Stark. It’s not fair for you to happily play “house” while I suffer from the heartache that you cause me! So,” the man cocked the gun and shoved it against Peter’s temple, “now you can understand what it feels like to lose your family. You don’t deserve one anyways.”

Tony stood, defenseless and useless as he watched the man pull the trigger. He felt May’s sobs behind him, but he watched the scene in front of him in slow motion. At the last second, something rammed into the man from behind, knocking the gun away from Peter’s head. Everyone screamed as the sound of gunfire went off, but Tony only saw Peter fall to the ground, unknown if he was shot or not.

 

Happy had woken up in the car and saw what was happening. He slowly crept out of the car and made his way around to be behind the gunman. Just as he made it into position, the man was cocking the gun. The bodyguard couldn’t wait any more and rushed man, tackling him to the ground, wrenching the gun from his grasps.

People screamed and ran after the gunshot, but instantly, Tony rushed to where Peter fell. “Peter! Peter, oh God, please be okay.” He fell to his knees next to the teenager and pulled Peter into his arms, checking to make sure he was alive. He noticed May come up next to him, sobbing and asking Peter to be okay.

Tony found a pulse, which was a relief but also noticed the side of Peter’s shirt had a growing red spot on it. “No, no, no. Come on Pete, you’re okay. You’re going to be okay.” Tony grabbed his phone and dialed a number. “Cho! I need you and the med team outside, now! Peter’s been shot!”

May and Tony both huddled over Peter, holding him and applying pressure to his side as they waited for the med team to arrive. They knew there was an entire crowd of people and bystanders surrounding them, but at the moment only worried about the teenager in their arms.

“Peter, baby, you’re going to be okay,” May sobbed, trying not to remember how similar this was to Ben’s accident. “Just open your eyes, honey. Just open your eyes, baby.”

Tony held his jacket against the wound, staunching the blood flow as best he could. He was wondering what was taking the team so long, even though in reality it had only been about 30 seconds since he hung up with Cho.

Suddenly, a small groan came from the boy, his eyes slowly opening, but not totally focused. Tony could see they were glazed in pain. May gave a cry of relief and Tony wrapped his free arm around Peter, pulling him closer to his chest. “It’s okay, bambino. You’re going to be okay,” he whispered, closing his eyes to stop the tears. He had to be strong to May and Peter. Now was not the time to let his emotions run rampant.

There were several shouts and the crowd was parting for Cho and her med team to make their way over with a gurney. Cho was shouting orders out and suddenly Tony and May were being pushed away from Peter so he could be put on the gurney and rushed to the Med Bay.

“No! Peter! Let me go with him!” May shouted, fighting against the staff that her gently pushing her back.

“Ma’am, please, we need the space to work on him, to make sure that everything’s alright. You can follow us to the Med Bay, but we need the space to work.” One of the medics told her, before rushing after the the gurney back into the Tower.

May just sobbed, as Tony grabbed her and wrapped his arms around her, holding her steady. “He’s going to be okay,” he whispered. She could hear his voice waver, and she knew he was struggling with this just was much as she was. “Cho’s the best, and he has advanced healing. He’s going to be okay.”

May didn’t know if he was trying to reassure her or himself with those words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo? What did you think? Let me know below!
> 
> Also, if you have any ideas or things you want to see happen, let me know!
> 
> Have a great day!


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started my new job this week and honestly, it's been kicking my butt in the best way possible. I love it even though my schedule is crazy busy now. Sadly, this job is more hours than my last couple, so bare with me as I settle into a new schedule and find the best times for me to keep writing. I'm not abandoning this AT ALL but updates will be sporadic for a while.
> 
> Also, this is now a series! I'm going to be occasionally adding oneshots that are in this story universe but don't fit directly into the timeline I'm writing, so if you guys want to see something or have any prompts you want me to write, just let me know!
> 
> Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

Tony and May had been waiting for hours. They sat, holding each other in the Med Bay waiting area, with no word on what was happening with Peter. May had ended up curled up on Tony in the same chair, because they had refused to let go of each other. Neither wanted to say it but they were both scared that if they let go, they’d lose the other person too.

Happy had gotten checked over by one staff member in case he had gotten a concussion, but after he was cleared, the bodyguard made it his personal mission to make sure the gunman was prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

As soon as Peter had been wheeled away, both Pepper and David appeared. David, in full lawyer-mode made sure the crowds of people and press stayed back and answered questions as Pepper led a dazed Tony and May out of sight and down to the Meb Bay. David met them down there after handling most of the mess outside.

The two of them sat with Tony and May until Rhodey burst through the doors. With one look at all the solemn faces, he simply sat on the other side of Tony and pulled the smaller man, and subsequently May too, into a long and firm side hug.

The three friends drifted in and out, making sure one person was always with the distraught couple, but working on handling all the other consequences of the events from that day. While David had originally asked the press to respect Tony and May’s privacy with what had just happened, the outside of the Tower was still swarmed with people who were curious for details.

Because of the public’s persistence, Pepper stepped outside to give a short statement. She had simply told people that the shooter was apprehended and that they were all still waiting for word on Peter’s condition. She also stated that Tony and May had rights to have privacy while they recovered from the whole incident and may or may not have subtly threatened everyone into compliance. Tony may be right to say that the press were idiotic vultures, but even they know not to mess with Pepper Potts or the SI legal team (aka: David).

Back inside, Tony and May hadn’t moved, while Rhodey was resting a couple chairs away. May had her head on Tony’s shoulder and was fingering the collar of his shirt to keep her hands busy. She felt Tony tightened his arms in reassurance and felt his head moving to rest on top of hers. His chest rose and fell in a slow deep breath under her. She could bring herself to say anything to comfort him, like he has been doing for her.

She had never been so scared for Peter before, nor seen him so hurt. Sure, she knew that when he went out as Spider-Man he always risked getting hurt, but the worst he’s ever been was bruises and cuts from the sometimes rouge knife. She had never thought she would see her son (yes, she saw Peter as her son and she was willing to fight anyone who disagreed with her) ever be shot, and especially never in front of her!

May had never felt so helpless in her life. She couldn’t do anything other than sit and wait while wishing this was all just a nightmare she’d wake up from if she just opened her eyes. She knew this was all real thought before every time she closed and reopened her eyes, she was still on Tony’s lap in the waiting room.

The quietness of the room was deafening and suffocating all at once. May couldn’t take it anymore. She glanced up at Tony to see him staring dazedly off at nothing on the other side of the room. She raised a hand and cupped his cheek with it to get his attention. When he finally blinked to focus his eyes and drop them down to her, she gave him a small smile.

“Are you okay?” She whispered.

Tony responded with a tight smile and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “For you? Always.”

“Tony, that’s not what I asked. Please don’t hide from me. Don’t shut down and shut me out, please. Not now,” she begged, trying to keep the tears from falling. She knew exactly what he was trying to do. He was the same way with her when they first started talking after the whole Vulture incident.

At this, Tony blinked once before giving a sigh that seemed to deflate his entire body. He wrapped his arms around her again and gave her a tight hug. “I’m so sorry, May,” he whispered into her hair. “This is all my fault. I’m not okay, but it’s because I know I put you and Peter in harm’s way and now you’re both suffering.”

May felt tears on her neck and she turned to wrap her arms around him and held Tony just as tight as he was holding her. Before she could argue and take the blame off his shoulders, she heard him mumbling again.

“I knew this would happen,” he was whispering. “I knew you’d both get hurt and I let myself get close to you guys anyways. This is all my fault. Everyone close to me gets hurt. I don’t know why I thought this time it’d be different.”

_Oh, Tony._ May moved without thinking and moved up to press a soft kiss to Tony’s lips, effectively shutting up his self-deprecating ramblings. She pulled back and her heart broke at seeing the lost and pain in her boyfriend’s eyes.

“I don’t blame you for any of this, Tony,” she started, still whispering since Rhodey was resting on the other side of the room. “I know Peter won’t blame you either, so _please_ don’t blame yourself. You didn’t crash into out car. You didn’t put a gun to Peter’s head, and you certainly weren’t the one to pull the trigger. In fact, you did the exact opposite in hopes to keep Peter safe. You made yourself completely defenseless to try and protect him.” She wiped away the silent tears running down Tony’s face.

“And I beg of you, please don’t regret coming into our lives. Everything changed after Ben passed, most of it for the worst. I can promise you though, since you’ve came into Peter and I’s lives, everything seems brighter and good again. I know we haven’t said it to each other yet, but I love you so much Tony. I don’t regret anything that’s happened with us, Tony. Not even today, because nothing we did caused this. I don’t know where I’d be without you right now, so please don’t say you regret _us_.”

Tony was quiet for several minutes, tears still silently running down his face. He just stared at May, not knowing what to say. He’s held the guilt for everything for so long and _no one_ has ever tried to convince him it’s not his fault. The problem is that as much as he wants to believe May, he knows this all happened just because May and Peter were now associated with _Tony Stark_ and so they now had targets on their backs that matched his.

_But maybe…_ Maybe just this once he could try to believe that this wasn’t all his fault. May was right anyways, he wasn’t the one holding the gun or the one who pulled the trigger.

Eventually, his thoughts moved to last part of her heartfelt speech. May said she loved him. Him! _Tony Stark!_ The man that the public still deems as a man with no heart. The residential screw-up of the Avengers. She had no idea how she could love a man like him, but he was so happy that she does.

Finally, his face morphed from the blank stare into a small smile. May saw the raw hope in his eyes. “You love me?” Tony whispered.

May grinned and gave a small watery laugh, her tears finally breaking free and falling too. She nodded. “Yeah, I do. I love you so much, Tony Stark.”

Tony leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead, pulling her as close as he could, squeezing her tight. “I love you too, May Parker. You have no idea how much.”

They sat there, quietly hugging until the silence was broken with a quick “Finally,” from Rhodey in the corner. That caused the couple to start laughing, all the stress of the day starting to break off.

That was the moment Helen Cho walked out of the Med Bay and into the waiting room. Instantly everyone became serious again, Tony and May jumped to their feet, waiting for the update.

Helen gave them both a smile. “First off, Peter is going to completely fine.”

At this, both adults sagged in relief. “Thank God,” May whispered.

“He’s out of surgery,” Helen continued, “He’s sleeping off the anesthesia at the moment, but he should be waking up soon based on his metabolism. We have an IV drip in just to give him some fluids so he doesn’t get dehydrated. His healing is kicking in so he’s going to be tired for a while, but he should be as good as new in a few days. He had a mild concussion too, which had been almost healed by the time we took him in for surgery, so you shouldn’t have to worry about any effects from that other than a possible headache. If everything looks good, I think he’ll be good to leave Med Bay tomorrow evening after I do a 24-hour post-op check. Do you guys want to follow me to see him?”

Tony and May were already walking towards the double doors before Helen finished asking her question. She led them down the hallway and into a white room. Laying on the hospital bed was a sleeping Peter, an IV in his arm and an oxygen and heart rate clip on his finger. Tony felt May stutter at the door and he gave her hand a squeeze before leading her over to the bed.

They took up residence on either side of the bed, May holding Peter’s free hand and Tony resting his hand on Peter’s forearm, his thumb rubbing gently along the teen’s skin. No words were spoken between them, they were content to sit silently, basking in the physical proof that Peter was okay.

“What did you call Peter earlier? Before the medical team got him?” May whispered, finally breaking the silence of the room.

Tony actually blushed, surprised and a little embarrassed that May had heard the accidental slip of his tongue. “I, uh, I had called him _bambino,_ ” he paused, looking down at Peter instead of May. “It’s, um, it’s Italian for ‘baby’.”

When May didn’t respond, Tony looked up at see her just smiling at him. “What?”

May just shook her head. “Nothing.”

Tony grinned. “No, it’s something. I can see it in your face. What is it?”

May laughed. “It’s nothing, I promise. I’m just admiring how well fatherhood looks on you.”

That… was not what he was expecting.

“What do you mean? I’m not- I mean- I-”

She reached over and grabbed his hand. “Honey, I’ve seen you and Peter. I’ve watched you two grow closer since his internship started, and even more once we started dating. I’m pretty sure the only people who haven’t been able to see how you think about each other is you and Peter.”

“But I’m not-”

“Tony, you’ve been acting as Peter’s father for months now, you just haven’t realized it.”

Tony opened his mouth to argue but May continued before he could speak. “And I can promise that Peter has been looking at you as a father-figure for a while now, even if he hasn’t realized it yet.”

Tony looked back down to Peter's arm. "I love him like my own," he admitted. "I just don't want to overstep because you've raised him, May. He's _your_ kid and I don't want to act like I'm replacing Ben or Richard, or anything like that."

Before May could answer, Peter started twitching, a couple groans escaping from his mouth. Instantly, both adults focus in on the awakening teen.

May gives his hand a squeeze, running her free hand through Peter's hair. Tony was gently rubbing Peter's other arm, mindful of the IV at his elbow.

"You're alright, sweetheart," May murmured encouragingly, "just open your eyes. Take your time, you're alright."

Peter blinked and squinted his eyes open before moaning and shutting them again. Tony seemed to understand because he called for Friday to dim the lights in the room. Once the lights dimmed, the teen sighed and he visibly relaxed before blinking his eyes open again. “M’y? ‘Ony? Wha’ happn’?” Peter slurred, looking back and forth between the two adults.

May gave a choked sob and buried her face in his neck, pulling him into a tight hug. Peter looked over at Tony with alarm and confusion on his face. “What happened?”

Tony rubbed a hand up and down May’s back to comfort her as she cried, trying to keep his own emotions at bay. “What do you remember, Pete?”

“Um, we were driving back home and I think someone hit our car?” Tony smiled at Peter calling the Tower home, and nodded at his questioning gaze, encouraging him to continue. “Then it gets kind of fuzzy, I think I hit my head, but was there a guy with a gun or something?”

Tony nodded again. “Yeah, some guy hit our car, causing it to crash. He then pulled you out and held a gun to your head in front of us. While he was talking, Happy snuck up on him and tackled him to the ground, restraining him. The trigger went off when Happy tackled him and you ended up getting shot in the side. You dropped to the ground, unconscious, which makes sense if you hit your head in the crash. Helen said you had a mild concussion when they took into surgery to remove the bullet.”

“Is Happy okay? Are you guys okay? Was anyone else hurt?”

Tony chuckled and ran his hand through Peter’s hair. “Yeah, kid. Happy’s fine. We’re both fine too. A couple small cuts from the crash, but nothing serious.”

May pulled back, sniffing and running her hands over Peter’s face and chest as if checking that no other problems have popped up in the last 2 minutes. “You were the only one to get seriously hurt, baby.”

Peter shrugged. “That’s alright, May. I have fast healing, remember?”

That must have been the wrong thing to say, because suddenly any grief in his aunt’s face was replaced by anger. “Yeah? And where was that fast healing to stop you from dropping to the ground, unconscious and bleeding onto the sidewalk? Just because you heal quicker, that doesn’t stop you from actually getting hurt. Don’t say that you getting hurt is _alright_ , because it’s _not_ , Peter.”

Peter looked confused for a second. “But I get hurt as Spider-Man all the time.”

Tony shook his head, resting a hand on May’s shoulder to keep her from yelling. “You weren’t Spider-Man when this happened, Pete. Even then, you haven’t been shot as Spider-Man. I would know, because Karen would have alerted me.”

“Just because this happened outside of the suit doesn’t mean I heal any differently, Tony,” Peter said, getting annoyed with how May and Tony were acting. It wasn’t like he hadn’t had run-ins with bad guys before. He’s fine!

“No, but it is different,” Tony tried to explain.

“Why? What’s so different this time?” Peter interrupted, raising his voice in irritation.

Tony raised an eyebrow in surprise. He knew that it was the medicine making Peter lash out, the kid never responded well to painkillers, but still. He also knew that since Peter didn’t really remember what exactly happened, he didn’t know how terrified Tony and May had been.

Before Tony could reply, May interrupted. “It’s different because we had to watch,” she whispered, before excusing herself from the room.

Tony and Peter both watched her leave. “What does she mean?” Peter asked.

Tony shook his head. He didn’t say anything, instead just pulled out a StarkPad, pressed a couple buttons and pulled up the outside security cameras from SI that caught the whole thing. Without a word he gave the device to Peter and turned to follow after May.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to end it there otherwise it would have been waaay too long again. This whole section of chapters I've just been writing a one and trying to find good breaks to make them into multiple chapters. 
> 
> Anyways, what'd ya think? Let me know your thoughts down below! 
> 
> Have a great day!


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter! 
> 
> I got a new tattoo this week and part of it runs across my wrist, which has actually made it pretty uncomfortable to type, but I'm making due. The tat was worth all the pain, haha.

Once Tony left, Peter looked down at the video and watched as their car was hit and spun out. He saw himself getting dragged from the car. He watched Tony guard May and hold the repulsor against the guy holding him at gunpoint. He watched as Tony then raised his hands and disabled the gauntlet because the guy threatened to shoot Peter. He saw Happy tackle the guy, heard the gunshot go off, and Tony and May racing to his collapsed body. He watched everything until Pepper led Tony and May inside the Tower after he had been wheeled away.

Peter slowly lowered the StarkPad to his lap. He didn’t really remember any of that happening, everything after the crash was just fuzzy in his mind. Peter did realize he owed May an apology for being so flippant about his injuries. He probably owed one to Tony too. Before he could ask Friday to call them back, he heard someone clear their throat from the door. He looked up and saw Tony leaning against the door frame.

“So,” the man said, “do you understand why May reacted she way she did when you said it was okay that you had gotten hurt?”

Peter just nodded, looking back down at his lap, shame and guilt for making May cry washed over him. He heard Tony sigh and then felt the bed dip. He looked over at the older man as he pulled Peter into his side, mindful of his stitches. “I didn’t know it happened like that,” he whispered.

Tony guided Peter’s head to rest on his shoulder. He rested his cheek against the top of the teen’s head. “I know, kid,” he said softly. “You should probably apologize to her, though.”

Peter sighed, relaxing into Tony’s chest. “I know I do. I’m sorry for snapping at you too.”

Tony chuckled. “I forgive you, Pete. I know painkillers aren’t your friend and make you easily irritated.”

Peter let his eyes slip close and nuzzled closer into Tony’s chest. “Where’s May?”

Tony let his hand run through Peter’s curls, gently untangling the knots as he went. “She went to grab something to eat for us. She’ll be back soon,” he softly answered.

Peter hummed and felt himself relaxing and slipping closer to sleep. “Wanna’ ‘pol’gize,” he slurred.

He felt more than heard Tony chuckle and felt a kiss being placed to the top of his head. He heard the man whisper: “Go to sleep, kiddo. You can apologize when you wake up.”

That was the last thing he heard before he slipped back into the blackness of sleep.

 

May came back to Peter’s room half an hour later with several bags of food. She stopped at the door, a smile growing as she saw Peter sleeping against Tony, who was looking down at his StarkPad, working with one hand while the other curled around Peter’s shoulders and resting on his head, still working his fingers through the teen’s hair.

“Well, don’t you look comfy,” she said, smirking.

Tony rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “Yeah, yeah. I moonlight as a human pillow. Laugh it up. The meds knocked him out and I didn’t want to pull his stitches by moving him.”

May just gave him a look as she set the food on the side table. “You don’t have to hide your feelings, Tony. You’re allowed to be worried about him, even if he’s almost completely fine now. That’s part of being a parent.”

Tony nodded and set down his work tablet to accept the plate of food that May passed him. He set it on the side of the bed and started eating _very_ carefully with one hand. “I never thought I could worry about someone all the time, but simultaneously love them so much it hurts. I just want to wrap him in bubble wrap and never let him leave his bedroom.”

May chuckled, sitting down in the chair next to the bed. She gave his knee a squeeze before she started eating too. “That’s also part of being a parent. The flipside to that fear and love is knowing that you can’t do that and have to let them get hurt to grow on their own.”

Tony set his fork down and reached to hold her hand, giving it a squeeze back. “I don’t know how you’ve done it all these years, May.”

May just smiled and looked over at Peter, who had a slight frown on his lax face, as if he was annoyed with Tony’s movements, but just curled closer, resting his face in the crook of the older man’s neck. She reached over and gently ran a hand down his cheek. “Because I love him and can’t imagine my life without him in, no matter how often I worry about him. That’s what makes all the fear and worry worth it.”

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. Both adults looked up to see Rhodey and Happy standing at the door.

"We wanted to give you guys some time before we came to check on Pete. How is he?" Rhodey asked as the two men stepped into the room.

Tony smiled at his friends. "He's gonna be fine, just sleeping off the pain meds right now. He'll be out of here tomorrow."

"Until then, are you going to play the role of the pillow?" Happy added, smirking.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. Heaven forbid I comfort my kid after he was _shot_.”

That sobered the other two men up very quickly. “He is going to alright?” Happy asked again, guilt shining on his face.

May gave the man a sympathetic grin and nodded. “Yes, Helen said he’s going to be just fine.” She made her way over and brought Happy into a large hug. “Thank you, Happy. You saved Peter today.”

Happy shook his head and looked down at his shoes. “I didn’t protect him like I should have, May. It’s my job to make sure you’re all safe.”

May gestured to Peter, who was still asleep on Tony while the man was quietly talking to Rhodey. “It looks like he’s pretty safe to me, Happy. If you hadn’t tackled that man when you did we would be in a very different situation right now. Just like I told Tony that it wasn’t his fault, it’s as much not your fault either.”

Happy smiled and pulled the woman in for another hug. “Thanks, May,” he whispered.

 

When it became clear that Peter was going to stay asleep for the rest of the night, Rhodey and Happy were finally able to convince Tony and May to sleep in the Penthouse in a real bed. It wasn’t easy, but after arguing that wrangling Peter to not push himself once he’s released from MedBay will require all of the couple’s energy, they conceded. Only after having Friday promise to alert them the moment Peter so much as sneezes during the night, though.

The next day, while May was eating lunch with Peter in his room, Tony excused himself to seek out Pepper. He bust through her office doors, ignoring her secretary and the fact that his CEO could have been in the middle of something extremely important. Luckily for him, she was just eating with David.

“Oh good, you’re both here,” he started, ignoring all pleasantries to jump straight to what he wanted to talk about. “I want to schedule a press conference this evening.”

Pepper quickly his her surprise. “I usually have to drag you kicking and screaming to press conferences. What’s changed?”

Tony almost growled. “The difference is they messed with my kid.”

Pepper smiled and nodded. “Fair enough. How big do you want it?”

“Not big, just the reporters we trust and use the most. We can stream it live too, to make sure people can’t twist anything I’m going to say.”

David cleared his throat. “Why do you need me, Mr. Stark?”

Tony gave a sharp grin. “To give me every single reason leaking a minor’s identity and private information is legally something I won’t put up.” He turned back to Pepper. “Other than what Mr. Lawyer here is going to tell me, I’m writing everything myself. I just need you to make sure press is there and people will hear about it.”

Pepper nodded again. “The only reason I’m not going to argue any of this is because it’s for May and Peter. They don’t deserve to deal with any of the press. I’ll let you know what time you’ll need to be in the press room tonight.”

Tony nodded once. “Thank you. Now, if you excuse me, I have a girlfriend and kid to head back to.”

Pepper and David both waved him away and watched Tony leave the office just as ostentatiously as he entered.

“He’s certainly changed from the Tony Stark he was ten years ago, hasn’t he?” David asked, once the doors shut behind his boss.

Pepper gave a soft smile. “Yes, he has. And all for the better. I never thought I’d see the day that Tony would be a father. It really suits him.”

David hummed in agreement. “That it does.”

 

* * *

 

That evening at 7pm, about 75 reporters and photographers gathered into the Stark Industries press room, anxiously waiting for what the billionaire superhero was going to tell them. Meanwhile backstage, Tony was waiting for his cue to head on stage by making sure Peter was comfortable situated on the couch he had placed back there so May and Peter could watch the live press conference too.

“Tony, I’m fine!” Peter groaned as the older man adjusted a pillow once again. He turned to May, who was sitting on the opposite side of the couch, happily letting Tony fuss. “May, please tell your boyfriend that I don’t need any more pillows and am perfectly fine on the couch.”

May rolled her eyes and tried not to laugh. “Peter, you and I both know that Tony will do whatever he wants. Besides, you were _just_ released from the medbay. Let the man fuss over you.”

Peter let his head fall against the back of the couch and let out another groan. Before Tony could do anything else, David came over, signaling that Pepper was almost done with her introduction. Tony ruffled Peter’s hair and leaned to to give May a quick kiss.

“Alright,” he said, “I’ll be right back and then we can all go relax upstairs in the penthouse. I’m in the mood for movies and ice cream tonight.”

May grinned and waved him to the stage. “Kick some ass and show them who’s boss.”

Tony winked. “Oh, I plan on it, sweetheart.”

Peter fake gagged, causing Tony to burst out laughing as he walked onto the stage. The second camera flashes caught his eye, though, his face shut down into disdain and annoyance. He tried to hold back his anger, but he was really struggling to not start yelling right off the bat.

When the reporters caught sight of the anger and annoyance on the usually charismatic and charming billionaire’s face, they quickly quieted down. Within 2 minutes, the entire room was hushed, waiting in anticipation for the real part of the press conference to begin.

Tony walked to the mic and cleared his throat. “Thank you, Ms. Potts for the lovely introduction. Now, how about we get on with the reason you’re all here today.”

The room was still quiet, aside from the occasional brave camera flash and the sound of people shifting in their seats. Tony had spoken in a short and clipped tone, that most of them weren’t used to hearing directed towards them.

Tony continued speaking. “There are a lot of other places I would rather be right now, so I’m going to make this quick. There have been rumors about my private love life floating around since New Years, after pictures of my date and I were given to the public. So first off, yes. I am currently dating someone and it has been great as we have been able to enjoy our relationship in private, _without_ cameras flashing in our faces every second of the day. We decided to keep our relationship off the radar as long as possible to keep some form of normalcy.

“So imagine how shocking it was for us to discover that not only was all of my girlfriend’s _private_ and _personal_ information sudden;y out in the public for everyone to see, but also her 15-year-old’s _private_ and _personal_ information in the public. Which is highly illegal, as my legal team has had the pleasure to tell me. So yes, I am dating May Parker from Queens, New York, as well as mentoring her previously stated 15-year-old, Peter Parker. Though, apparently everyone knows that already.

“What really irks me, though is that because all this information had became public, someone decided it was their turn to play _“Let’s Make Tony Stark Pay For All His Mistakes”_. The problem I have with that is this time the idiot tried to use my kid as punishment.”

Tony pauses his rant, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath before opening them and continuing and a quiet but deadly voice.

“That’s why I’m out here talking to you now. I want everyone to know that if you _ever_ think it would be a good idea to use my family to get to me, prepare to be given an up-close and personal lesson about why I am Iron Man.”

He paused again, the room silent as people took in his words and glare to match his promise. After several moments, Tony nodded his approval before making a move to leave. “Now,” he said, finishing his speech. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go home and spend time with my girlfriend and our kid, making sure he’s fine after being _shot_.”

With that, he turned and left without looking back.

 

Tony entered the backstage area, only to be ambushed by May running and engulfing him into a hug.

“Was that okay?” he murmured into her hair.

May nodded against him, slightly tightening her hold on him. “That was more than okay, baby. That was great. I love you so much,” she whispered back.

Tony whispered his I Love You’s back before they both turned to Peter. The teen was sitting on the couch, just watching the two of them. “Hey, Kiddo,” Tony said, moving to sit next to him. “Are you ready to head upstairs?”

“You called me your kid,” Peter stated, instead of answering the question.

Tony glanced at May, who confirmed that he did with a simple nod. Tony turned back to Peter and pulled him into his side. “I guess I did.”

“Did you mean it?”

Tony glanced at May again, who just smiled and nodded encouragingly. He knew this was a big step for him and Peter. Tony had been denying how he saw Peter for a while, but couldn’t anymore because of an oblivious slip of his tongue. At least he knew that May was completely okay with Tony seeing Peter as his son.

“Yeah Kiddo, I did mean it. You’re my kid, just as much as you are May’s.”

Peter didn’t say anything, instead turned to give Tony a bone crushing hug, which Tony immediately return. They didn’t say anything else, even after May came and sat on the other side of Peter to join in on the group hug.

“Come on,” she finally said, “let’s go continue this upstairs.”

With that, the trio headed up to the penthouse and spent the rest of the evening cuddled together on the couch, eating ice cream and watching movies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you think? Let me know below in the comments!
> 
> As always, I love all of you and your support for this story! I makes my day every time I see someone has commented or given kudos. 
> 
> Have a great day today!


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter as thanks for the help this weekend. 
> 
> Seriously though, THANK YOU so much to all the advice you guys gave, it really helped. It was a great weekend with my family.

The next day, May took off work so she could watch Peter. Even though he was released from MedBay the day before, he still had stitches and was sore from the whole ordeal. Tony had several meetings he had to attend, and May didn’t want to leave Peter by himself, so she called off work. After seeing the press conference from the day before and fielding all sorts of phone called because her employment had been one of the things leaked to the public, her boss had readily agreed to giving her time off to deal with it all. 

She hadn’t told Tony until he was leaving for his first meeting because they all knew he would have tried to ditch to spend the day with them as well. Not that she hadn’t wanted Tony to join them, but she knew that most of these meetings were for the Accords, and as much as she wished that they could hide away from the world for a while, world government officials didn’t like to be kept waiting. 

Peter was glad that May had the day off. They haven’t spent much time with just the two of them in a while. As much as he loved having Tony around, nothing could beat the times that he and May spent, just the two of them. Peter cherished those days any time they _did_ happened. 

Seeing as the two Parkers unconsciously and temporarily moved into the tower with Tony, they set up camp and made themselves at home in on the overly large and extremely soft couch in front of the giant plasma TV. 

There was popcorn, soda, ice cream as well as other assorted snacks and drinks lined up on the coffee table as the duo relaxed and spent the day marathoning all their favorite classic movies: a mix of action, comedy, mystery, and the occasional rom-com and musical. _“Do we have to watch rom-coms, May?” “Yes, Peter. Anything with Ryan Reynolds is a classic.”_   

Aside from May occasionally checking Peter’s wounds, not much was done that day. The simply sat and enjoyed each other’s presence. They ordered take out for lunch and went back to their list of movies while they waited for Tony to finish his meetings.  

 

* * *

 

Tony wanted to rip his hair out. 

His first meeting that morning was with Pepper, going over the response from his impromptu press conference. Apparently it was a hit. Most people were siding with him and that the leak was an invasion of personal privacy. Tony thought it was more likely that people were siding with the idea of _May and Peter’s_ personal privacy rather than his, since he already resigned his life to being in the eye of the camera 24/7.

Either way, people were rallying behind him and the Parkers. People were still interested in the people Tony publicly called his family, but it seemed that they were only going over the information already made public, and were verbally attacking people who tried to find anything else.  

The other big topic trending from the press conference was how Tony addressed Peter as _his_ kid the entire time. Theories are sprouting from the wood works about why. Tony was glad some people had decent common sense as one of the theories is that he has grown close to the teen while dating May and has taken to seeing Peter as his son. Considering that is the truth, Tony could help but agree and respect the ones who believed this to be the case.

After that theory though, the ideas grow more and more wild. The most common idea though, seems to be that Peter is really Tony’s son and he is only dating May to get to know and have Peter in his life. Another theory was that Peter was May and Tony’s real son and that the two adults had been married for years, but to keep it a secret, Tony and Pepper had a fake relationship in public. 

Tony laughed as he and Pepper read through some of the theories that were running around social media, but ultimately, he was glad that there weren’t many negative voices that really cut through the noise. Although, someone had seemed to find footage and Tony cradling an unconscious Peter on the street right after Happy had taken the shooter down and had added as a comment: _#IronDad_ which was currently trending on the Top Ten on Twitter. 

When Pepper showed him the photo and caption, he just stared for a moment, taking in the scene from the photographer’s point of view. Tony was kneeling on the asphalt, cradling Peter against his chest, his head bent and buried down near’s Peter’s cheek. May was kneeling next to him, tears evident on her face as she grasped the teen’s hand in one of her’s and with the other, clenching Tony’s bicep, holding onto him as if she had no more strength left in her. 

He was hit by the sudden realization that in the moment captured by the camera, they really looked like a family. Even though a part of his brain recognized how morbid and twisted it was to have _this_ moment and _this_ picture be the one that Tony uses for that realization, when he sees is a grieving father and a distraught mother, both crying over their son. 

After that realization, he wanted nothing more than to head back to his penthouse and wrap both May and Peter into his arms and join them for their movie marathon. Reality pulled him from that day dream though, as Friday reminded him that General Ross and a handful of delegates from the Accords Committee were waiting for him at the Compound.

Instead of driving the hour and a half it would take to make it upstate, and making Ross wait that much longer, he also wanted to be done as soon as possible. So instead of driving on of his cars, he suited up and flew to the Compound instead, making the trip in only twenty minutes. 

Which brought us back to _now._ Tony wanted to rip his hair out and just walk away, flying back to his penthouse to see May and Peter. He couldn’t though, as he knew too much was riding on these meetings. Rhodey and him have been working on making modifications to the Accords that everyone could agree on. They both agreed that super heros needed some system of accountability, but they also had been arguing and trying to show that the restrictions the first draft gave heros was lessening their rights as humans and making them personal monkeys to the council and governments. The two of them were fighting to find the balance between it all. 

Tony has also been working on another factor with the committee. He’s been advocating pardons for the Rouges. 

That was the reason for the meeting today. Rhodey didn’t know about, or any of the previous meetings regarding potential pardons. Tony knew Rhodey wouldn’t agree with Tony and fight him on it the entire way. After Rhodey had found out what happened in Siberia, the man wanted to don the War Machine suit and hunt Rogers down to make him pay. 

Tony had been able to convince his best friend that he was in no physical state to take on the super soldier, which was why Tony never mentioned the pardons. He was regretting that choice now though, as he had to sit through Ross’s annoying and pathetic arguments about why the Rouges needed to be contained on the Raft. 

Now, Tony didn’t disagree that they all needed to be held accountable for what they had all done and the laws they broke, but Tony also knew that if Ross got his hands on everyone at the Raft, they would be in even more trouble than now. Tony had never really been able to get the picture of Wanda all collared up and restrained in that glass cell out of his mind. He was determined to never let anyone come close to that type of treatment again.

Right now though, as Ross was droning on and on, all he could think about was how he could wrap up everything as soon as possible. He knew nothing more was going to be decided today as they’ve been talking in circles for hours. Other members must have had the same thoughts, as one cleared his throat and claimed that they’ve discussed enough for the day and they will pick up here again at their next meeting.

Tony was about to bolt when Ross asked a question that made the hair on the back of Tony’s nest stand straight.

“How’s your kid doing? Recovering from a gunshot is such a terrible experience.”

Tony slowly turned back to face the older man. “Excuse me?” He asked.

Ross smirked. “You heard me, Stark. How’s your kid? Gunshots hurt like hell. 

Tony narrowed his eyes. “Why do you want to know?” 

Ross shrugged, still smirking. Tony wanted to punch it off his face. “Well, you sounded pretty worked up at that press conference last night, so I’m assuming he’s still in pretty rough shape?” 

Tony had no idea why Ross was asking after Peter. He knew the man always had an agenda, no matter what he was doing. “He’s recovering. Everything is going to be fine,” Tony finally answered, making his way to the door. 

Ross apparently had nothing else to say on the matter, so he just gave a single wave as he watched Tony leave to fly back home.

After Tony left the conference room, but before he could suit up and fly away, Friday alerted him that he had a phone call from Luca. Instantly, Tony pulled his phone out and answered that call. “Luca!” he greeted with a smile. “It’s so nice to hear from you. How is everything?”

_“Tonio! It is so nice to hear your voice again. You still don’t come around to visit enough!”_

Tony chuckled. “I’m sorry Luca, I’ve just been busy with a lot on my hands.”

 _“Si, you have been, if the news is anything to go by. You seem very busy with that beautiful woman and young boy.”_  

Before Tony could thank Luca, the older man plowed on. 

_“Speaking of being busy Tonio, I watched you last night and it looked like you could use a break.”_

Tony sighed. The Italian always meant well, but it sounded like this was quickly turning into another lecture about his life choices. “Luca, I could always use a break. Unfortunately, too many people depend on me to let me take a break.”

_“Nonsense, Tonio! No one is too busy for an occasional break. That is why I insist you come over tonight. Bring your beautiful woman and come have a relaxing dinner. You need it after dealing with that scare with your boy.”_

“Luca, May and I can’t just leave Peter alone! He was shot 3 days ago! Even if he’s out of the medical wing, he still needs someone there to help him.”

_“Which is why I called James first and convinced him to watch him for the evening. Your fratello will watch the boy just fine.”_

Tony knew he couldn’t argue any more with luca. The older man was the master of arguing. He sighed again. “Alright, Luca. We’ll be there. What time are you expecting us?”

_“Be here by 7, Tonio. And dress up nice! Anna is excited to see you again as well.”_

At that, Tony smiled. “Alright, Luca. Thank you and I promise we’ll see you and Anna at 7.”

He hung up the phone and suited up, decided to tell May about their inpromtu date once he got back home. He was honestly nervous to bring May over to _Mario’s_ to meet Luca and Anna. They had considered Tony as part of the family for as long as he could remember and he wondered if this nervousness was what most people felt when they have their girlfriends meet their parents. Despite his nerves, he knew that the Carsons would love May. Tony just had no idea how much they would try to embarrass him tonight. 

Tony landed on the roof of the Tower, his armor releasing him as he walked towards the door. He made his way back to his penthouse and smiled when he saw May and Peter relaxing on the couch, still watching movies. 

“Well, I see you two have been productive today,” he said, startling them slightly.

Both of them turned and smiled when they saw Tony standing in the doorway. “Tony!” Peter exclaimed, rushing over to meet him in a crushing hug. Tony gave a muffled “ _oof”_ when the teen crashed into him, but quickly wrapped his arms around Peter in a reciprocating hug. 

May made her walk over to them at a slower place and greeted Tony with a quick kiss. “Did your meetings run long today?”

Tony groaned dramatically, leading them back to the couch so he could flop down, eliciting a laugh from Peter. “How those idiots ever got to their government positions is beyond me.”

May hummed and mentioned to Peter, leading the two of them to join either side of Tony, relaxing against him. As much as Tony always acted averse to physical contact, May knew how much he actually relaxed with cuddling or touching someone. Sure enough, once they both sat down and against Tony, the man practically melted into the couch. 

After several minutes, Tony roused himself, jostling May and Peter as he got back off the couch. He turned and pulled May up with him. “Come on, we need to go get ready.”

May look at him, confused. “Why? We didn’t plan anything tonight. We were going to stay with Peter.”

“I know, but I got a phone call earlier from someone who has decided we need a break and said he has everything planned for us. Apparently Rhodey is coming to watch Peter and everything.”

May raised an eyebrow. “Who is this mystery man that is planning our night outs?”

Tony smirked. “Someone I trust with my life, and someone you’ll meet tonight.” He started pushing May towards the bedroom. “Now come on, we have to get ready.”

May laughed at Tony’s antics. “Tony, you seemed to forget, Peter and I don’t actually live here. If I have to prepare for a date, I have to go back to our apartment.”

Tony paused, grinning sheepishly. “Right, I uh, forgot for a moment.” 

May just smiled and kissed his cheek. “How about I go home to get ready and you pick me up when it’s time to go, alright? That way Peter can stay here while Rhodey watches him.” 

Peter groaned from his place on the couch. “I don’t need a babysitter, May.” 

“I’m sorry, were you not the one who was shot three days ago?” Tony sarcastically asked.

“But I have enhanced healing!” Peter protested. “I’m completely fine!”

“We want you to relax until Dr. Cho says otherwise,” May added,

Pulling the doctor was the winner, it seemed, because Peter just grumbled under his breath but restarted the movie to watch that instead.

Tony and May both chuckled at his reaction. “I’ll have Happy drop you off at your apartment then,” he said.

May smiled and nodded. “Sounds like a plan. When will you be picking me up?”

Tony pulled her into his arms again. “About 6:30. We have to be there by 7.”

“6:30 it is then,” May said, kissing him goodbye before heading down to the lobby to meet Happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you think? Let me know below! 
> 
> I've honestly been so excited to introduce Luca's character properly for forever now. The date at Luca's place was one of the first ideas I had for a Tony/May story and we're finally there!
> 
> Anyways, thank you again for all the support and comments and kudos. It really makes my day to see people enjoying all of this. 
> 
> Love you all! Have a great day!


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter, everyone! I wanted it up sooner but I was working a conference for my church and then accidentally set my hand on fire... so it's been kind of crazy in my life, haha.
> 
> Also, I was in the workshop at my job building some equipment and all of a sudden Back In Black came on and it made my day.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!
> 
> P.S. We've hit 1,100 hits on this story! That's crazy guys! Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who's supported this story through kudos, comments, and the works. I love you all.

At 6:30pm on the dot, Tony knocked on May’s apartment door. He was getting Déjà vu of their first date, but the only difference was that he wasn’t a bundle of nerves like he was that first time. This time, he checked his watch to make sure they wouldn’t be late and then grinned when May opened the door for him.

May was wearing dark blue jeans with a white blouse and jacket. When she saw Tony’s face, she ducked her head to hide her blush. No matter how many times it happened, May didn't think she'd ever get used to the way Tony would just look at her, as if she was the most exquisite thing in the world.

Tony cleared his throat and shook his head. "Wow, May."

May just smiled. "Alright, heartbreaker. You can fawn over me on the way. I don't think you want to be late."

Tony grinned and held his arm out for her. "You're not wrong, as usual. Shall we?"

May took his offered arm and followed him down to his car. Tony drove off, thinking about the night might end. As he was walking out of the tower, Rhodey said he was planning on staying the night so they could do whatever they wanted for their date. The look Rhodey sent him was the context he needed into what his friend meant.

Aside from the teasing from Rhodey, Tony had been thinking about bringing up an important question with May, before everything happened, and he was now trying to decide if tonight would be the best time to ask.

On one hand, he felt it might be too soon, especially with them still focusing so much on Peter and his injuries. The superhero honestly knew that Peter was at least 95% okay and could go back to his normal routine. He also knew how much the experience freaked May out and was willing to go along with her mother-henning Peter a little longer, at least until Cho said he was good to go. Tony knew doing that would help put May at ease.

On the other hand, Tony also knew that Luca and Anna would go all out with whatever dinner they were planning tonight and he didn’t know when there’d be a better setting to ask her. He knew she’d fall in love the old Italian couple and vice versa. Being in the couple’s home would be the perfect place… hopefully.

Maybe he’ll just wait and see how the evening progresses.

Tony was so lost in his thoughts, he almost didn’t realize they were pulling up to the restaurant. He drove on complete autopilot while he was deep in his head. He was grateful in that moment that he and May were already comfortable enough with each other to spend time in silence that wasn’t awkward or stress-filled. He parked and ran to the passenger side to open her door for her.

“My lady?” Tony asked, giving an exaggerated bow with an over the top English accent, and held a hand out towards May.

May laughed and grabbed his outstretched hand. “Why thank you, kind sir,” she replied in the same fashion.

Tony grinned and led her to the doors of the fancy and extravagant looking Italian restaurant, Mario’s.

May gaped at the doors. She turned to Tony with her eyes wide. “ _This_ is where we’re eating? Tony! I’m so under-dressed! Why didn’t you tell me!”

“Hey, he said, pulling her close to hug her. “You look beautiful, no matter what you’re wearing. I promise you’re not undressed. Luca and Anna don’t care how we look, so long as we show up. They only hold dress code standards to the public. You’re perfectly fine, I promise.”

May huffed and looked up at him. “If you say so,” she muttered.

Tony smiled and gave her a quick peck on her nose. “I know so,” he answered. He took her hand again and led her to the door. “Come on, they don’t like being kept waiting.

May followed Tony through the doors and as the look around, saw that there were no other customers around and only a single table close to the middle of the room set for a dinner for two. She’s driven past this restaurant before, never believing she would be able to afford even a single dinner here. May just quietly took in the grandness of the beautiful place.

“Tonio! You’re finally here!”

An older woman’s voice calling over pulled May from her awe staring and towards the back of the room where an older Italian couple came out from the kitchen. May glanced over at Tony and was taken aback by the look on his face. She had never seen him look so happy or carefree. It was as if all the wrinkles and worry lines from his years as a superhero have suddenly been erased, making him look several years younger.

“Anna,” Tony responded, voice full of warmth, as he opened his arms to embrace the smaller woman. The man, whom May assumed must be the famed Luca, stood back for a moment, smiling at the two hugging.

After Tony and Anna broke apart, he turned to the older man, still grinning. “Thanks for inviting us over, Luca.”

Luca gave a small smile. “Nonsense, my boy. You know that you and your family are welcome over here any time you want. Now, come greet me properly. What is this ‘Luca’ business? I don’t remember disowning you, Tonio. Am I not still your _zio_ in my own home, my boy?”

Tony laughed and shook his head apologetically. “Sorry, Zio Luca. I forget sometimes,” he said as he walked over and greeted him with as strong of a hug he did with Anna. After they released each other, Tony walked back to May who watched the entire interaction with surprise and curiosity.

He pulled her into his side and kissed her on her temple. “Anna, Luca,” Tony began, smirking at Luca’s grumblings, “this is May Parker, my amazing girlfriend. May, meet Luca and Anna Carson, the last people left to ever know me as a child.”

May walked over to them and held her hand out, smiling. “It’s nice to meet the both of you. Tony has mentioned you several times.”

Anna ignored May’s hand and pulled her straight in for as bone crushing of a hug as she gave to Tony. “Nonsense with the formalities. You’re Tonio’s family, meaning you’re _our_ family. Call us Zia and Zio.”

May flushed at the obviously personal invitation. She knew what those monikers meant and knew how important it was that they were already giving her permission to use them. She returned the hug before stepping back to greet Luca, who instantly pulled her into the same type of hug.

Finally Tony laughed and pulled May back towards him. “Alright, alright. Let’s not scare her off just yet.”

Luca rolled his eyes. “Hush, Tonio. We are just having fun. You never introduce us to anyone any more. Just your _fratello_ , James and that woman running your business, Virgina.”

May gave Tony a question look at that comment but he just gave a small shake of his head to say that he’ll explain later.

Before Luca could antagonize Tony any more, Anna took over and led the couple to the single table. She let them settle into their seats before she started talking again. “Now, tonight is a special night, yes? You two deserve a break, so relax! Luca and I have created a menu for you already, so there is no worrying over decided on what to pick. Just relax and enjoy each other’s company.”

After both Carsons retreated back into the kitchen, May smiled at Tony. “They seem nice.”

Tony grinned, shaking his head and sighing in fond exasperation. “Yeah,” he agreed with a chuckle, “they’re something alright.”

“You call them aunt and uncle. Are you all related?” May asked as Tony poured them each a drink.

“No, we’re not. They’re practically my family though. Luca’s father was friends with my mom’s father. The families stayed in contact when everyone moved from Italy. Luca and my mom grew up together. My mom always said Luca treated her and protected her like he would his little sister. They didn’t spend as much time together after she got married though. Luca and Howard never quite saw eye to eye,” he added with a shrug.

He paused before smirking. “I don’t know if he’ll say it tonight, but Luca refuses to call me a Stark. Says it’s a disgrace to my mother’s family. He will only refer to me as _Antonio Carbonell_. That’s why they call Tonio instead of Tony.”

May chuckled. “Living a double life, Mr. Stark?”

Before Tony could answer, Luca and Anna both return with the first dish for them to share. A simple bruschetta and bread to start their dinner off. They thanked the older couple and waiting for them to go back to the kitchen to start eating again.

May groaned. “Tony, this is so good. Why haven’t we come here before?”

At that question, the billionaire shuffled in his seat slightly. May caught the movement and saw the seriousness in his eyes. She reached over with her free hand and gave his a squeeze. “Hey, that was stupid of me to ask. Let’s just ignore it and move on, alright?”

Tony was silent for a moment before shaking his head. “No, it’s a valid question. We’ve had their food several times before, and I know you already knew that.” He fidgeted awkwardly for another moment.

“Luca and Anna are the only family I have left, aside from Rhodey,” he quietly began. “I don’t introduce them to people in my life because I don’t want them hurt like I’ve been. Rhodey met them while we were still in college, but it took me several years for them to meet Pepper. Anna had called to tell me they missed seeing me, so whenever I was in New York for business, I always made sure to have as many meals here as I could, and that meant bringing Pepper along do we could discuss work.”

May nodded. “So you never brought her here…”

“As a date?” Tony finished for her. At May’s small blush, he chuckled and shook his head. “No, I never did. Luca alluded to the two of us several times, but Anna always made her opinion very well known, and she didn’t like the idea of Pepper and I together. So I never brought her here unless it was for work.”

May thought over this information for a moment before giving him a soft smile. “So it sounds like I’m the first girlfriend you’ve brought here to meet them?”

Tony blushed and looked down at his lap. That was all the answer that May needed. She gave his hand another squeeze. “Hey,” she said, “I’m _honored_ that you’ve brought me to meet them, Tony. Thank you for trusting me.”

Tony turned his hand around and interlocked their fingers. He brought their hands up to his mouth and gently kissed her hand. “I trust you with everything, May.”

May had no words. Instead, she just smiled and continued holding his hand.

 

Luca and Anna peaked out from the kitchen doors. Anna smiled as she watched the two smile at each other. “They seem truly happy,” she whispered to her husband.

Luca gave a nod. “Yes, they do. It’s nice to see Tonio finally happy in his life. That boy has too much on his shoulders. The world acts like everything would burn without him.”

Anna chuckled and gave his arm a pat. “I believe you are exaggerating, my dear. I agree though, our Tonio works too much. Hopefully this May Parker will help with that.”

They watched Tonio laugh at something the woman said. “Although, it seems that maybe she already has,” Anna added as an afterthought.

Luca smiled and took his wife by the hand, pulling her back into the kitchen. “Come,” he whispered, “leave them be. We will finish preparing the food.”

 

* * *

 

Tony and May were through the appetizer and main course already and were waiting for Anna or Luca to bring out the dessert. They talked quietly about mundane things between bites, just enjoying the chance to relax and be together.

Anna walked over to them, smiling. “The dessert is almost ready. We wanted it to be fresh for you two. In the meantime, Tonio, why don’t you show off your skills on our old piano.”

Tony smiled but shook his head, trying to ignore the look of surprise on May’s face. He kept the fact that he would play music a secret. Not because he was ashamed, but he never had a reason to play anymore, really ever since his mom died. It was the thing they did together, and he saw no point after she was gone. Only every once in a blue moon when he was really missing her, did Tony sit and refresh his skills on the ivory keys.

“I don’t think so, Zia. I haven’t played anything in years.”

Anna gave a sigh. “Tonio, you and I both know that time has no effect on your skills. Besides, you haven’t played for your dear old Zia in far too long.”

May covered her mouth to hide the laughs at the obvious manipulation the old woman was doing. Tony was aware of what was happening too, if his slight eye roll was any indication.

“I know exactly what you’re trying to do, Zia,” he started, trying to stay strong in his refusal.

Anna simply shook her head, giving the best look of innocence that she could muster. “I don’t know what you could mean, Tonio. I’m simply asking to be reminded of the talent my _caro nipote_ has for music.”

Tony sighed, his shoulders slumping in defeat. “Fine,” he said, giving a mock glare at May when he heard her chuckles. He stood up and headed over to the black, baby grand piano sitting in the corner. Anna and May followed him, Anna giving May and wink while pulling the younger woman along.

“Come,” she whispered, “you won’t be disappointed.”

May smiled, glancing over to Tony as he situated himself on the bench. “I know.”

He looked over at them, giving May a small and shy smile. “Are you sure you want me to play, Zia? It’s not going to be any good,” he asked the older woman.

Anna rolled her eyes and lightly smacked him on the shoulder. “One day, Tonio, you will have faith and confidence in yourself. I cannot wait to see it just to say I told you so. _Of course_ I want you to play, _mio caro_.”

Tony ducked his head at the term of endearment, but faced the keys nonetheless. He fidgeted for a second as he thought of what to play, before closing his eyes and letting his fingers find their own path.

The piece started out slow, a simple melody in his right hand, before the lower parts joined in, gaining emotion and depth as the piece moved forward. Tony kept his eyes close as he let himself be taken over by the music.

May watched her boyfriend, stunned. She watched him transform as he physically relaxed and essentially became one with the instrument he was playing. He swayed with the music, drawing closer to the keys as the song quieted before rising with the crescendo as the song hit its peak. May watched as the emotions of the song traveled across his face, eyes still closed and head bowed in both concentration and a form of reverence. His fingers flew across the black and white ivory, never hesitating, pausing only when deemed needed in the music itself.

Tony played the baby grand piano as if he studied and dedicated his life to that single instrument. A part of May wasn’t surprised, as she knew her boyfriend was a literal genius, so it’d make sense he could play at least one instrument. As the song slowed down and faded out of existence like it came in, Tony took a breath and opened his eyes, looking over at May and Anna, waiting for their reactions.

Anna wiped a tear away and come forward to press a delicate kiss to his forehead. “As beautiful and passionate as ever, Tonio. Maria would be so proud. Thank you,” she whispered, brushing back a piece of hair that fell out of place while he had been performing.

Tony smiled his thanks, unable to vocal express it, but the old woman understood immediately, kissing his forehead once more before walking away. She patted May’s shoulder and nudged her towards Tony as she made her way back into the kitchen to make sure Luca didn’t set anything on fire. The man can cook pasta for days, but anything else and the Lord help them all.

After Anna left, Tony looked up at May. “So,” he started, giving her a small smile as he saw her dumbfounded expression. “What’d you think?”

May just stared at him, still shocked at what she had witnessed. “Tony,” she said, “that was amazing! No, it was absolutely stunning! I didn’t know you could play that well. Heck, I didn’t know you played at all, let alone to that degree. That was just…” May let herself tamper off, unable to truly express the shock and amazement she felt while watching him.

“It was like I was watching an entirely different person,” she finally said.

Tony just opened his arms and beckoned for her to join him on the bench. “So you liked it then,” he said, smirking.

Instead of rising to the bait to tease him, she just rested her head on his shoulder, letting her own fingers ghost over the surface of the piano keys. “I loved it, Tony. Thank you for playing for us.”

Instead of answering, Tony just leant down and kissed her temple, letting his hands follow hers as they silently played along to music in each of their own heads.

“Could you play something else?”

Tony looked over at her, before looking down at the piano. “I don’t see why not,” he answered. “What do you want to hear?”

May shrugged, moving off his shoulder so he had room to move his arms. “Whatever you want to play for me.”

Tony playfully rolled his eyes, muttering about never being given decent or specific requests. May laughed next to him, prompting him to grin, before going back to think of a piece. This time, he actually want to focus on impressing May, instead of just playing something for Anna’s enjoyment. He wanted something that sounded just as good as the first piece but was obvious about being more intricate and a higher skill level.

Once Tony thought about what he was going to play, he closed his eyes again and let his hands and fingers run wild. Instead of starting slow and building up like the first piece, the one he decided to play this time starts fast and builds from there. Instantly, he’s playing two separate melodies at the same time, which are stark contrasts of each other yet complementing each other perfectly.

Again, May watched Tony transform as he melded to the piece. He moved back and forth as each melody took its turn as the lead, physically moving like a wave as the volume and intensity of the piece ebbed and flowed up and down for the entirety to the piece.

As he played the final notes of the song, her Tony came back to her, looking over from his spot beside her on the bench. “Well?” he asked, slightly out of breath.

May chuckled and leaned forward to kiss him. “Just as beautiful as before. You really are amazing.”

Ton grinned, moving to kiss her again. They sat at the piano for a while, Tony playing some more, as well as showing May the basic chords and such. They joked around, talked some more, kissed each other every once in a while as well. Essentially, they were completely encased in their own private bubble at that baby grand piano.

That is, until Luca pulled them out by calling them back to their table, stating that it would be a disgrace upon him to let them allow their freshly made peach cobbler go cold after the man works so hard on it. After they sat down, Tony informed May that Luca is a hopeless case when it came to baking desserts and that Anna more than likely made this as a second batch after Luca failed.

May laughed at that, and they continued eating, relaxing and enjoying each other’s company. She was grateful that they went out tonight. She they would have enjoyed a night in with Peter just as much, but she felt they were able to relax and let tonight in a way they hadn't before.

Tony waited until they were both mostly done eating the cobbler before he cleared his throat, gaining May's attention.

"May, there's something I want to talk to you about. I've been thinking about it for a while now, and especially after the last few days, I think it's worth discussing."

He paused, looking down and his lap where he was fiddling with his hands. "I love you, May, and Peter too. You guys have become and my family and my world. We've spent so much of our time together since we started dating that sometimes I forget we live on opposite sides of the city. Every time I'm reminded of that fact, I feel like there's a hole being ripped in my chest, and ai should know what that feels like," he paused, chuckling at his own dark humor.

"What I'm trying to say is that I want you and Peter to move in with me." He held up his hand when May opened her mouth to speak.

"I know we've discussed and even argued about it before but hear me out. I know you don't want to move to the Tower because it's too far from Peter's school and your work, so I've found a compromise.” He pulled his phone out and turned it to show May the screen.

She read it and looked at him, confused. “A housing development?”

Tony nodded excitedly. “Exactly! This is a more recent neighborhood that was built, and it is almost right between the Tower and Queens. I already contacted the agents and have a house on reserve, just in case you said yes. This way, we can all be together and neither have to be too far from our jobs, and it’s safer now that the public knows about us.”

“What do you mean, safer?” May asked him.

“Well,” he explained, “Your apartment building was some of the information leaked to the public, and after the incident a couple days ago, everyone is either assuming or realizes that we’ve all been staying at the Tower. I know I threatened people at the press conference, but that won’t stop all the wackjobs from trying to do something to you or Peter. This would be discrete and only people who need to know will know where we live. Plus, it’s a gated community and the house I found for us is all the way at the back of the neighborhood.”

May was quiet for a moment, while she thought over all the information. She knew that staying at the Tower wouldn’t be a long term solution. She and Tony had argued that before everything started. He had brought up moving there and she vehemently fought it, stating distance as the issue. In reality though, she was nervous about the implications of her and Peter leaving their cozy little apartment they lived in with Ben.

Tony watched her nervously. “Before you decide, we can go look at the house. You can walk through and see everything,” he prompted.

“Tony,” she sighed, his heart plummeting. “I promise to think about it, but you know I can’t make any decisions without talking to Peter first.”

Tony brighten up again. “Of course! I wouldn’t expect anything else, May.” He leaned forward and took her hand in both of his. “All I’m asking is that you consider the idea. We can both talk to Peter and all three of us check out the house together. I don’t want to do anything without both of your opinions, but I just want to keep you safe.”

She couldn't help but smile at that. Of course that's what he wanted. All he ever wanted was to make sure that the people he cared for and loved were safe. Especially when he always believed that those closest to him ended up hurt. She gave his hands a reassuring squeeze. "I'll think about it and talk to Peter."

Tony smiled and stood up, pulling her into his arms, hugging her. "That's all I ask," he whispered, keeping her close to him.

She wrapped her arms around him and stood there, both of them just contently holding each other.

 

Luca and Anna peaked out from the kitchen one more time, smiling at the sight of Tony and May standing and hugging each other, content smiles on each of their faces. After a minute, Luca turned to Anna and kissed her forehead, heading back into the kitchen. “Yes, our Tonio is going to be just fine,” he whispered, not wanting to ruin the lovely moment in their dining area.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think? Let me know, below! 
> 
> Also, the first song Tony plays is this piece: https://open.spotify.com/track/1LBScqjpls4ghAusmJFKhu?si=na5bWKeRSTuFGqkjbvT3AQ
> 
> The second song he plays is this: https://open.spotify.com/track/7w2KRu6af2iFDnLmYLt9ze?si=dWL705CoTyGibpgiqzCe1Q
> 
> Check them out, because they are both great piano pieces. 
> 
> Thank you for reading and have a great day!


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